First balance sheet of 2008 Carthage Forum

The 10th Carthage Forum on Investment attracted 953 investors, including 380 foreign ones from 31 nationalities, coming not only from traditional partners of Tunisia, such as France, Italy, Germany and Belgium, but also from such new markets like Thailand, Russia, South Korea, Azerbaijan and Turkey.

The Forum, held on June 12-13, 2008, positioned itself on the world stage of economic events, said, in a statement to Tunis-Afrique Presse (TAP) news agency, Foreign Investment Promotion Agency (FIPA) director-general Mongia Khémiri.

The Carthage Forum, as an event of general promotion and marketing, generated some 261 business contacts (90 foreign and 172 Tunisian businessmen), including 27.2% which aim at partnership.

Eighteen percent of the business contacts targeted sub-contracting and co-contracting, 17.2% the technical co-operation (technology transfer) and 15% co-contracting, etc.

At the end of the forum, 76 venture ideas were accepted and deserve to be followed up, in addition to the emergence of 30 concrete project ideas.

As regards FIPA's promotional action, Mrs. Khémiri specified that it targeted in particular the Asian markets, underlining that prospects are promising for development of projects with South Korea, the 8th world economic power and the 4th in the Asian region, notably in the food industry field and aquaculture.

TAP