The Tunisia 2020 conference secures a big boost for the country’s economy from Qatar worth over a billion dollars.
The Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani pledged the sum of $1.25 billion in financial support to the struggling economy of Tunisia. The promise was made at an investment conference in Tunis, Tunisia 2020, where the Emir was the only other head of state to participate alongside the president of Tunisia, Moncef Marzouki.
In his statement, the Emir said that the pledge was “to support the Tunisian economy and strengthen its process of development”, without giving any further details to how.
The conference in the Tunisian capital was attended by international prominent businessmen and political leaders to join efforts to help the country’s plunging economy. The Tunisian government hopes the conference will attract much-needed investments worth billions of dollars.
There are more than 2,000 leaders from the worlds of business, finance and politics, including French Prime Minister Manuel Valls, at the Tunisia 2020, which started today and will conclude tomorrow, November 30.
The hopes are to find potential investors to some 140 projects around the country, ranging from from infrastructure works to hi-tech ventures at an estimated worth of $32 billion.
The Tunisian economy was badly shaken over the past few years. Nearly six years ago, the country went through a revolution that overthrew the ruling dictator Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, and installed a democratically elected government. However, the country still face high unemployment rates and slow economic growth.
Once a popular tourist destination, the country’s tourism sector has been deeply damaged by a series of recent terrorist attacks.
