Tunis — The International Finance Corporation (IFC) coming under the World Bank (WB) granted Tunisia a donation worth 625,000 euros (about 1.25 million Tunisian dinars) dedicated to the revision of the Investment Incentives Code.

The agreement was signed on Wednesday by Investment and International Co-operation Minister Riadh Bettaieb and IFC Investment Director Majdi Amine. By virtue of this agreement, IFC undertakes to provide the necessary technical assistance to Tunisia by making specialised experts in the field available and ensuring follow-up to the revision works.

Mr. Bettaieb said that the working out of the new code requires 14 months' work, 4 months of which to finish off the draft code and present it to the National Constituent Assembly (NCA) by the beginning of 2013.

The other ten months, he added, will be devoted to setting up mechanisms to help implement the code and initiate the Tunisian administration to it.

He specified that the new investment incentives code should meet the needs of investment in Tunisia and open new prospects for Tunisian and foreign investors.

For his part, IFC representative pointed out that it had been agreed with the Tunisian side to give priority to the achievement of investment objectives in Tunisia, take stock of the investment environment and consult with the various stakeholders.