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Tunisia

Answer

The UK has worked hard to help secure an EU mandate to negotiate a Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area (DCFTA) with Tunisia. The DCFTA will bring greater integration with the EU single market as well as regulatory convergence. The EU has also re-launched discussions on the EU-Tunisia Agriculture Agreement. We are also focused on helping UK companies identify new opportunities within the Tunisian market. UK Trade and Investment held an event last week ““Arab Spring One year on: Business opportunities in North Africa””, which generated a good level of interest in Tunisia.I met with the Tunisian Minister for Vocational Training and Employment Abdelwaheb Matar in January. Mr Matar sought co-operation with the UK in all major fields including investment and vocational training and I assured Mr Matar of UK support.Through our Arab Partnership Fund, we have provided approximately £1.2 million of support in Tunisia so far, including for political participation, public voice, good governance, and economic reform. This support will help build a more stable political and economic environment, which will in turn create a better enabling environment for the creation of new and strengthened trading links with Tunisia. The Department for International Development is also funding the African Development Bank in Tunis to co-ordinate donor support for private sector development in the middle east and North Africa region. We expect to further increase programme funding for Tunisia in the next financial year.

Secondary information

Type

Written question

Reference

100276; 542 c722-3W

Session

2010-12

Subjects

Overseas trade Tunisia

Link

View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk