Tunis — President Kais Saied met on Monday at the Carthage Palace Minister of Agriculture, Water Resources and Fisheries, Ezzeddine Ben Cheikh. The meeting marked the 61st anniversary of Law No. 5, dated May 12, 1964, concerning the ownership of agricultural land in Tunisia.
At the outset of the meeting, the President of the Republic highlighted the symbolic significance of this date and the law's role in restricting agricultural land ownership exclusively to Tunisian nationals, according to a Presidency statement.
He reviewed key historical milestones in the management of agricultural lands, noting how they had been distributed and exploited without legal justification.
President Kais Saied stressed the need for a comprehensive audit programme in collaboration with the Ministry of State Property and Land Affairs.
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He recalled that past intentions to conduct such an audit, covering not only agricultural lands but all state properties, were derailed, allowing illegitimate seizures to persist.
The Head of State also emphasised that procedures for transferring state-owned lands into private ownership must be expedited to benefit founders of communitarian enterprises. These lands, he noted, are either underutilised or exploited without legal basis.
Priority should be given to young, innovative individuals eager to work and capable of generating diverse agricultural wealth. This would not only ensure self-sufficiency but also open access to global markets, bringing prosperity to the entire nation, he was quoted as saying in the same statement.
