Tunisia, Most Competitive Arab & African Economy
Tunisia has the most competitive Arab and African economy according to The Global Competitiveness Report 2006-2007, published by the World Economic Forum.
The rankings are drawn from a combination of publicly available hard data and the results of a comprehensive annual survey conducted by the World Economic Forum, together with leading research institutes and business organizations.
The report, which polled 11 thousand business leaders, enjoys high credibility in international business mediums and among decision-makers in the finance business.
Internationally, Tunisia ranked number 30 out of 125 countries, climbing seven positions compared to last year’s ranking results; ahead of Arab countries that are well known for their strong economies like the United Arab Emirates (32nd), Qatar (38th), Kuwait (44th), and Bahrain (49th); as well as countries like Italy (42nd), Russia (52nd), and China (54th).
The first five positions in the report results go to Switzerland (1st), Finland (2nd), Sweden (3rd), Denmark (4th) and Singapore (5th).
[Source: Middle East Online]
World Bank Report On Education In The Arab World First African And Arab Gene Bank In Tunisia Tunisia 2004 : African Cup of Nations Arab Firms Project to be launched in Tunisia Over the Border of TunisiaI hope we can leverage this momentum and attract more investors to the country.
Posted by: samsoum at September 27, 2006 11:17 PMThis is interesting...
I always assumed that Tunisia was a competitive country, perhaps one of the most competitive in the region. On both of my visits there last year, I saw a lot of good things; Tunisia certainly looks like a country that is going places.
I'm involved in an interesting Middle East venture, and I've been looking closely at most of the 22 Arab economies - I think Egypt comes very close to the top in regards to being investmeny-ready and accessible to outsiders (particularly business people).
How do you think Tunisia looks as a business destination for other Arabs? Considering things like geography and the fact that French is used for business more than Arabic, do you think it would be feasible to base a Pan-Arab company there?
This is a great blog btw, I have your RSS on my feed reader! Congrats on the baby, my wife & I had one seven months ago, so we know what you and youre wife are going through.
Regards,
Luke
Posted by: Luke Cholerton-Bozier at September 28, 2006 02:13 AMYes this is very interesting... Good for us :) I only hope that the people here (in Tunisia) will get aware of it and benefit from this situation.
@Luke: Both French and Arabic are used in business in the same way, it only depends on you which language you prefer. Arabs can use arabic and the others French and this is one of the strengths of Tunisia. The geographical situation is also very advantageous: close to Europe and in the center between Africa, the Middle East and Europe.
@MMM: A little quiz: let's see if you remember me. We met by Karim to congratulate him for the birth of his daughter and I talked a lot with your father (partly in German) :) Congratulations for the new baby.
Posted by: Haykel at September 29, 2006 10:32 PM@Luke: Great to hear from you :) Regarding Tunisia as a business destination, French is used in business as much as English is used in other Arab countries like Egypt or Jordan, but in the end of the day, Tunisia remains an Arab country, and I don't see any reason why an Arab company can't be based here. As for geography, Tunisia's location is a plus for it when it comes to international business because of it's proximity to Europe and all. If you're talking Arab business only, maybe Egypt is in a more central location, but that doesn't mean as much as it did before with all the communication technology that exists today, and air travel.
Thanks and congrats on your baby too :)
@Haykel: Thank you :) Of course I remember you, it's great to hear from you over here on the blog.
Greetings to your wife and lovely kids.
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