Tunisia - Tunisia has an attractive investment climate because it is one of the most important countries where foreign investors, especially the Saudis, want to carry out their projects, thanks to its important strategic geographical location (between Africa and Europe), said Ambassador of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to Tunisia, Abdulaziz bin Ali Al-Saqr.

In an interview at the TAP news agency's television studio, he added: "Tunisia is also distinguished by its distinctive natural resources and important human resources, as well as its educated people and good governance".

The ambassador said that the good governance of its leaders helped to send positive and reassuring messages about investing in Tunisia.

The development of trade between the two countries requires minimising difficulties for investors," he added, noting that the results of the meetings of the Saudi Joint Commission and the Joint Economic Council with Tunisian officials are important and constitute the organisational framework for relations between the two countries in various fields.

He said the results of these meetings were positive, especially in the fields of scientific research, industry, environmental protection, tourism, investment and culture, which "reflect the growing Saudi-Tunisian relations and their continuity".

In a related context, the Saudi ambassador said that future meetings between the two sides will witness a review of the projects achieved in the past.

He recalled the arrival of more than 300 Saudi businessmen in Tunisia in 2023 to discuss the implementation of a number of projects, study the obstacles in the field of investment and find practical solutions to facilitate investment procedures through the use of a modern banking system and focus on digitalisation.

Promising projects

Regarding the projects to be implemented by the Kingdom in Tunisia in the near future, the Saudi Ambassador to Tunisia said that the Kingdom is working on new projects, and last September a contract was signed to start the construction of the King Salman bin Abdulaziz University Hospital in Kairouan.

The agreement was signed by the Tunisian Ministry of Health and the Saudi Fund for Development on September 5.

Work will begin within the next few days, he said, noting that the hospital will be fully funded by the Saudi Fund for Development (SFD) with a donation of $85 million.

He stressed that this project will provide services to the residents of Kairouan and the neighbouring central and western governorates.

He also underlined Saudi Arabia's keenness to expedite the completion of this hospital, which has a capacity of about 500 beds, within a short period of time, with the possibility of future expansion in the number of beds, medical wards and clinics.

In the same context, he said that Tunisian Minister of Health, Mustapha Ferjani, under the guidance of President Kais Saied, is very keen to complete the construction of this hospital, which will be ready in three years (36 months) at the latest, noting that other such projects are also underway in other Tunisian regions, such as El Jem and Tataouine, among others.

In the field of housing, Ambassador Al-Saqr pointed out that Saudi cooperation with Tunisia is usually multifaceted, whether through direct investment, the Saudi Fund for Development or bilateral cooperation between the ministries of the two brotherly countries.

He noted that the Fund's contributions to projects in Tunisia began in 1975 in the fields of health, culture, mosque renovation, road paving and electricity, adding that the issue of housing "is one of the most pressing issues facing every citizen today".

He added that a number of important housing projects in Tunisia have been financed by the Kingdom, as individual social housing units have been handed over to their beneficiaries in a number of regions of the country, while the next phase will see the second batch of these units handed over to their beneficiaries.

In the next phase, the second batch of these houses will be delivered (in the capital Tunis and throughout the country).

It is noteworthy that during the month of February in Tunis, the delivery of a batch of social housing in a number of governorates amounted to 1368, besides the readiness of 3310 others, knowing that the cost of the social housing programme amounted to 1,278 million dinars.

There are about 990 social housing units in Sidi Hassine in Tunis, 1408 in El Bokri, Ariana, 1547 under construction in Fejja, Manouba, and 385 between Mohammedia and Rades in Ben Arous.

The Saudi ambassador stressed the need to create new facilities for Saudi investors and to reduce the length of investment procedures in Tunisia.

Technical cooperation

On the other hand, Al-Saqr told TAP that the number of Tunisians in the Kingdom exceeds 35,000 who work in the education and health sectors and contribute with their brothers in the Kingdom to the process of economic development and achieving the "Kingdom's Vision for 2030", a vision of a complete and uninterrupted path that achieves the good of humanity in various countries of the world.

He added that Tunisia is considered one of the partner countries of Saudi Arabia in achieving the vision of development in the fields of technology, universities, medicine, arts and artificial intelligence, stressing that the Kingdom welcomes the presence of Tunisians in its territory at various levels.

In this context, the Saudi ambassador stressed the Kingdom's keenness to further develop the level of technical cooperation between the two sides in the near future.

Longstanding and distinguished relations between Tunisia and Saudi Arabia

The Saudi diplomat stressed the strength and tradition of Saudi-Tunisian relations, which date back 68 years.

He expressed his country's desire to accelerate the pace of these relations with Tunisia in the future, in line with the wishes of the two countries' leaders, King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud and President Kais Saied.

He said that this will be done, on the one hand, through the implementation of a number of new projects in Tunisia and, on the other hand, in accordance with the position of the two countries at the Arab level through international structures and organisations such as the Arab League, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation and the United Nations.

In this regard, he stressed that there is a convergence of views between the two sides on all issues raised at the international level.

Hajj, towards more facilitative measures

On the other hand, Ambassador Abdelaziz Bin Ali Al-Saqr spoke about Hajj procedures in the direction of facilitating the Hajj process for Tunisian pilgrims next year.

He told TAP that the delegation of Tunisian pilgrims is “one of the best participating delegations in 2024, whether in terms of organisation, adherence to Hajj standards or appropriate times to perform the pilgrimage.”

In the same context, he pointed out that the Kingdom is working to further strengthen all measures to facilitate the conditions and the process of Hajj through the use of technology and artificial intelligence and to provide the comfort of pilgrims from all countries, especially from Tunisia.

He stressed that the Hajj process in Tunisia is usually conducted through only two channels: the Ministry of Religious Affairs, which represents Tunisia through the official quota approved according to the number of the population, and what is granted through the Embassy of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in Tunisia, within the framework of the so-called "courtesy quotas".

The latter do not exceed hundreds in favour of certain sectors and personalities in recognition of their professional circumstances and to facilitate their performance of the Hajj rituals.

The Saudi ambassador stressed that the "Nusuk platform", which is one of the most important platforms launched by the Saudi Ministry of Hajj, has greatly enabled each pilgrim to choose what he wants regarding the Hajj in terms of cost, the company he wants to travel with and the hotel he will stay in, explaining that it has contributed significantly to facilitating the Hajj process digitally.

"There is a contract between the Ministry of Religious Affairs in Tunisia and accredited Hajj agencies in Saudi Arabia, which cooperate with the Ministry of Hajj and Umrah in the Kingdom to facilitate the Hajj process in general."

Regarding the process of obtaining a visa to visit the Kingdom, the Saudi ambassador to Tunisia said that this process has become very easy today in light of technological progress, through the possibility of obtaining a tourist visa for the purpose of tourism, which will later enable him to perform Umrah whenever he wants.

The Saudi Ambassador said that today there is another type of visa offered by Saudi Airlines called Stopover Visa by booking, buying a ticket and obtaining a visa at the same time for 4 days.

He said that this type of visa will enable the visitor to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to obtain a visa in less than half an hour through the use of a technical application system where it is no longer necessary to obtain a visa by going to the embassy or consular section.

The National Hajj and Umrah Platform, Nusuk, was officially launched in 2022 and currently offers more than 121 different services to facilitate the arrival procedures of pilgrims from around the world.

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