We would like to remind that the economic wing of the Strategic Vision Group “Russia – Islamic World” continues to work actively within offline session of the annual International Economic Forum “KazanSummit”. As part of the year-round business program of the International Economic Summit, the Investment Development Agency of the Republic of Tatarstan continues a series of online interviews with the OIC Ambassadors Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Russia and business representatives on the topic: “The Impact of Covid-19 Coronavirus Infection on the Economy of the OIC Countries (G-to-B)”.
This time the speakers were representatives of different spheres of activity of the Republic of Tunisia, namely Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Tunisia to Russia Mr. Tarak Ben Salem, representative of the Tunisian National Tourism Office in Moscow Nezhi Guider, as well as Hassen Trigi, a businessman and the Head of the Tunisian Holding in Russia.
In the course of the conversation, the problems concerning the economic development of countries in the current conditions of Covid-19 coronavirus infection spread around the world were raised. The sides also discussed the measures taken to support business in the current conditions, the most demanded specialties, digitalization of economic spheres and many other issues.
Noting the development of business relations between Russia and Tunisia, the Head of the Investment Development Agency of the Republic of Tatarstan said: “This is a great opportunity for all of us to discuss what is happening today between Russia and Tunisia. Being one of the most active regions of the Russian Federation, Tatarstan is pleased to take part in the consolidation of relations between our countries and makes the maximum contribution to inter-regional cooperation. The most significant event for economic development is the International Economic Summit “Russia – Islamic World: KazanSummit”, where we actively cooperate with the OIC countries. This year, due to the coronavirus pandemic, we had to reorganize our work in this area and now we are focusing on online events, discussions and analytical work to identify relevant issues and share experience. The next offline summit will be held in spring of the year 2021. We have the honor to invite the delegation of Tunisia and take an active part in it with representatives of the business community. It is worth noting that Tatarstan is open for cooperation in all spheres of activity, while Tatarstan’s investors are socially responsible and continue to help residents of the Republic during such a difficult time for all of us”.
As the Ambassador of the Republic of Tunisia, Mr. Tarak Ben Salem, noted in his speech, there is a huge potential for cooperation between the countries, which needs further implementation. At the same time, cooperation concerns virtually all sides of the interaction between the states.
The Ambassador said: “We can see that there are a lot of opportunities to work together and believe that our relations with the Republic of Tatarstan remain among the best ones. Our cooperation with Tatarstan has reached a high level after President Rustam Minnikhanov’s visit to Tunisia in 2018. I hope that in the future we will build even closer relations, especially in the framework of preparation for the next Summit”.
Interestingly, the active work of the Republic of Tunisia is also carried out in St. Petersburg (this is about the tourism sector), as well as the Republic of Altai. Despite the existing close ties with Russian regions, representatives of Tunisia continue to look for ways in order to interact more closely, including in the agricultural and industrial sectors. As far as educational sphere is concerned, Tunisian citizens study in such Russian cities as Kazan, Astrakhan, Moscow, St. Petersburg and Ryazan.
Salem believes that in today’s realities it is crucial to follow trends, pay more attention to integration, including in working with other regions. First and foremost, it is important to pay attention to supporting start-ups and development of communication technologies, which have become particularly important in the context of the pandemic. The Ambassador is sure that the pandemic has given a great boost to the development of technologies.
In his turn, Hassen Trigi, the Head of the Tunisian Holding in Russia, announced the possibility of establishing a trade mission, which will help to accelerate the development of business relations between Russia and Tunisia.
“There is no doubt that the experience we have gained from close cooperation with Russia has given us a good basis for cooperation between our countries. It is a great honor for us. Last year I visited the Republic of Tatarstan and noticed how well the investment climate and infrastructure were developed there. Separately, I would like to speak about the high level of spiritual friendship, including friendly attitude towards foreign citizens, which pushes us to look for additional areas for cooperation. This is what made us consider the idea of establishing the Trade Mission of Tunisia to the Republic of Tatarstan, which we are planning to implement in the nearest future”, Trigi said.
Undoubtedly, one of the important aspects of the conversation was the development of the tourism sector. According to representative of the Tunisian National Tourism Office in Moscow Nezhi Guider, tourism between Russia and Tunisia has a positive dynamic, but needs a strong impetus to spur growth in activity. It is noteworthy that the Republic of Tunisia has been actively investing in the Russian tourism market since 1995, promoting tourism absolutely for all regions of Russia. Of course, modern technologies are used in this work, which allows protecting tourists and local residents as much as possible. “Nowadays Tunisia is among the leaders of tourism directions among Russia and Russian regions. Speaking about what attracts Russian tourists, these are museums, exhibitions, excursions are in great demand”, - summed up Nezhi Guider.
Ilmira Gafiyatullina
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