Tunis — The Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in Tunisia increased by 44.9% between 2011 and 2012 rising by 1064.2 millions Tunisian dinars (MTD) in the first half of 2012. Compared with the first six months of 2010, this leap is only of 8.3%, with 823.9 MTD achieved.

Investment and International Co-operation Minister Riadh Bettaieb specified, Friday, during the regular meeting with the press in Tunis, that 71 new firms including 40 industrial units started production. Some 120 extension operations of enterprises were achieved as part of boosting their activities in Tunisia and helped the creation of 6,750 jobs.

He added that the Ministry identified a strategy, which aims mainly, to re-establish trust among the investors, relaunch the economic activity by means of introducing structural and legislative reforms.

Mr. Bettaieb also pointed out that the Ministry strives to make the most of other resources and investment opportunities and exchanges, notably with the Asian emerging countries (China, Malaysia) and the Gulf countries (Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates), but also with Turkey and the Scandinavian countries.

"This new orientation is made at the expense of the co-operation with Tunisia's first partner, the European Union (EU), with which the meetings and the negotiations on the development of economic, financial and technical co-operation are intensified, he also underlined.

The European delegation granted, he reminded, to Tunisia a donation worth 30 million euros. During the second half of 2012, the donations scheduled are estimated at more than 68 million euros.

He reminded, in this connection, the agreements of fundings concluded during the first half of 2012, under the shape of advantageous credits worth 2,346 MTD, specifying that the interest rate is by 3% with a five-year grace period and a repayment period of 20 years.

Mr. Bettaieb underlined that his department continues, in collaboration with the concerned Ministries, the negotiations with the World Bank (WB), the African Development Bank (AfDB) and the EU as regards the second programme for economic recovery (PARE2) worth 1,224 MTD.

Tunisia could rely on a total amount of financial resources to be mobilised in 2012 to support the state budget, of about 2,774 MTD.

In the second half of 2012, it is scheduled to move forward in the achievement of projects funded as part of the programme of "assistance to the payment balance", open the credit line for the benefit of the small-and medium-sized enterprises via the banks and start the technical co-operation programmes for the support of the private sector and the environment protection.

In another connection, the Minister said that the number of Tunisians hired abroad as part of the technical co-operation, reached, by late June 2012, 1,068 persons.