TICAD9: improving Japan and Tunisia’s relationship
From the 20th of August to the 22nd, Tunisia took part in the ninth edition of the Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD9) and was able to consolidate several dossiers and lay foundations for an improve relationship with Japan, reports tunisie numérique on the 8th of September.
A key outcome of the TICAD9 meetings was the acceleration upon negotiations between Tunis and Tokyo upon a bilateral investment treaty (BIT).
The BIT, once signed, will provide Japanese investors with a legal framework for investments they make within Tunisia. The treaty will guarantee Japanese investors with the protection of their capital, the repatriation of dividends, and fair dispute resolution.
Tunisia markets will become more appealing to Japanese investors, opening the nation up to further international investment.
Talks at TICAD9 also concerned Tunisia’s cooperation with Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), with emphasis upon the Grand Sfax desalination plant.
The plant’s first phase foresees a production capacity of 100,000 m³ of drinking water per day, extendable to 200,000 m³/day. It is expected that around one million people living within in the Sfar region will benefit from the plant.
Prior TICAD discussions have led to Japanese investors involvement in helping to reduce water loss around urban networks, with a goal of reducing the rate of leakage by 10 to 15 points through pipe rehabilitation and the installation of monitoring systems.
Moving beyond the agreements made at TICAD9, the conference has also bolstered and improved the quality of the dialogue between Tunisia and Japan.
At the conference, Algeria was able to illuminate the world upon points for investment to improve the nation’s economic development, proving the value of TICAD in shaping the future development of African nations.
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres also made comments at TICAD concerning the future development of African nations. Guterres stressed that Africa could become a “renewable superpower” whilst discussing the need of foreign investments in the continent.
As it stands, the talks at TICAD have accelerate the pace of coming tangible contracts, new jobs and infrastructural improvements.
tunisie numérique, maghrebi.org
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