Tunis — Tunisia witnessed the creation of the first African as well Arab Gene's Bank which aims at preserving biological diversity and genetic resources, boosting scientific research as well as promoting national genetic heritage.

The establishment is equipped with refrigerated rooms capable of hosting 200,000 samples of genetic resources, notably seeds, tissues or pollens as well as research laboratories and scientific units specialised in collecting, conditioning, classifying and grafting tissues

The Bank devotes spaces for checking the quality of samples, with the aim of treating them if need be, before preserving them or introducing them in the market. .

The National Gene's Bank was inaugurated, on the occasion of the National Tree Day, by the Head of State who planted an olive tree, thus signaling the start of a forestry campaign in all the regions of the country.