The American Chamber of Commerce in Tunisia is pleased to announce the new partnership with MIDDLE EAST PARTNERSHIP INITIATIVE (MEPI). “The Export Lab”, will support and increase the Tunisian Exports to the US market and will target mainly the small and Medium Enterprises in three sectors: Agribusiness, Handicrafts, and New Technologies.
interested members and companies are requested to contact AmCham Tunisia at : Project@amchamtunisia.org.tn
The 2017 AmCham Tunisia Elective General Assembly was held on Monday, September 25th, at Le Paris Hotel, les Berges de Lac. It was chaired by Mr. Khaled Babbou, President of AmCham Tunisia.
After the Presentation and adoption of the AmCham Activity Report as well the financial report and the Reading of the Auditor’s statement on the accounts of AmCham Tunisia, the General Assembly proceeded to the election of new Board Members.
The elected new Board of Directors is composed of:
I. President: Mr. Naceur Hidoussi
2. Vice- Presidents:
3. Treasurer: Mr. Adel Mohsen Chaabane
4. Deputy Treasurer: Mr. Etienne Roumier
5. General Secretary: Mrs. Lamia Fourati
6. Deputy General Secretary: Mrs. Hela Fourati
7. Board Members:
AmCham Tunisia held a lunch Discussion on 30 March 2017 in Tunis (Sheraton Hotel Tunis). AmCham Tunisia welcomed the sister organization AmCham Libya, Mrs Debbie Hirst, Director of AmCham Libya and was one of the key speakers.
During the luncheon; the various speakers made presentations on their various projects and their sectors of activities.
M.Khaled Babbou, AmCham President welcomed the presence and thanked the sponsors of this event and stressed on the role that can play the two chambers to reinforce the business relations between the two countries.
Mrs Hirst made the first presentation where she spoke about her experience as a foreign investor; resident in Libya and the challenges and opportunities this presents. She spoke about AmCham Libya; a newly created organization aimed at assisting American businesses in Libya and Libyan companies interested in the US markets and opportunities.
After the presentation of Mrs Hirst an MoU was signed between the two chambers.
Later M.Colin B.Waitt, VP of LMI gave a presentation on his company specializing in consulting management for the American government, created over 55 years ago. LMI was set up in Libya in 2013 and has maintained its activities with its Libyan partners despite logistical problems and travel difficulties.
M. Zied Oueslati and M. Mohamed Bridaa, AmCham VP’s closed the presentations by summing up the ongoing activities of their companies (Microsoft) in Libya and with Libyan clients; some of which is carried out through Tunisia.
At the end of the presentations, a Q&A session was opened. The participants asked various questions on the current situation in Libya on issues such as security; foreign currency; travel difficulties, forecasting the future for American companies or Tunisian companies in Libya, etc…. The speakers answered the questions in a very open and frank manner.
On February 15th, 2017, AmCham Tunisia inaugurated its third Chapter in Sousse “the AmCham Chapter for the Center”, and the Signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU).
The inauguration was marked by the presence of H.E Daniel Rubinstein, US Ambassador to Tunisia, AmCham Tunisia Board Members , Members of the Tunisian Assembly of the Representatives of the People (parliament), and business community from the region.
Mr. Kamel Zarrad, Chairman of the new chapter spoke about the existing industries in the region such as the textile sector and the potential it carries for the region and how he will work toward promoting US investment in the region in this sector and others.
Mr. Khaled Babbou, Chairman of AmCham Tunisia stated that the creation of this new Chapter is an opportunity for AmCham board members attending the event, to highlight the commitment of AmCham to promote business development in all the regions of the country, and to boost business relations between the two countries and expressed his thanks to all for their presence, and thanked H.E Daniel Rubinstein, US Ambassador to Tunisia for attending this inauguration in a region with a high potential for business and trade.
H.E Daniel Rubinstein welcomed the presence and congratulated the new Chapter Board. He underlined that this new AmCham Center Chapter will serve the business community in the Center of Tunisia, aiming to promote US investments in the region as well as assist Tunisian businesses from the area to access the US market.
M Karim Garnaoui, Vice President of the new chapter introduced the new board for the Center Chapter, made up of:
To close this ceremony, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed between AmCham Tunisia and the AmCham Center Chapter, making it the third AmCham Chapter after Bizerte and Sfax.
2017, is the fifth year that AmCham Tunisia has hosted a student delegation from Columbia University Business School. This year’s delegation was composed of 30 MBA Students headed by Professor Kamel Jedidi, the John A. Howard Professor of Business Marketing at the Graduate School of Business, Columbia University, New York.
On this occasion, AmCham Tunisia organized a Breakfast Debate, and the Panel was led by Mr. Mohamed Bridaa, General Manager, Microsoft and was composed of Mr. Khaled Babbou, President, AmCham, Mr. Noureddine Hajji, Partner EY and Mr. Ali Kooli, General Manager Arab Banking Corporation.
Mr. Mohamed Bridaa, welcomed the delegation and expressed AmCham’s commitment for deeper collaboration with academia through focusing on AmCham University Chapters and especially, the commitment of AmCham to support the implementation of a Columbia Global Center in Tunisia.
Prof. Kamel Jedidi, John A. Howard Professor of Business Marketing, warmly thanked AmCham Tunisia for the support to his students’ delegations during the previous years.
The Panelists shared their view on Tunisia’s competitive advantage for foreign investors such as qualified and competitive labor force, good geographical location, and the entrepreneurial spirit and activities ongoing in Tunisia.
The American Chamber of Commerce in Tunisia (AmCham Tunisia) participated in the second 2016 U.S.-Africa Business Forum which was held on September 21st in New York City with the attendance of nearly 35 countries and over 200 US companies.
Co-hosted by Bloomberg Philanthropies and the U.S. Department of Commerce, the event focused on trade and investment opportunities on the continent for African heads of government and American business leaders. This Forum was hosted on the occasion of the 71st Session of the UN General Assembly; and witnessed the presence of many high officials, notably, President Barak Obama, Secretary John Kerry and Secretary Penny Pritzker.
Exceptionally, the event was enhanced by the presence of the President of the Tunisian Republic, Mr. Beji Caïed Essebbsi, as an honorary guest, as well as members the Tunisian government.
AmCham Tunisia was represented by Mr. Khaled Babbou, President of AmCham and also Ms. Amel Bouchamaoui Hammami and Mr. Mondher Ben Ayed, both former presidents of Tunisia AmCham.
On September 10th, 2016, AmCham Tunisia hosted again its 9th Annual Golf Tournament. Players have been gathered to enjoy a day of relaxation and golf along with the lovely amenities that make being on the green a great day of fun.
Starting with an 8:30 AM registration, more than 80 participants teed off at 10:00 AM competing for Hole-In-One, Closest to the Pin, Longest Drive and Putting Green contests.
The outing was followed by a trophy ceremony where winning golfers were granted the outstanding prizes offered by AmCham Tunisia Sponsors: TOPNET, Argania – GIVENCHY, Nuxe, Air France; indeed, this prestigious event has not been a success without their generous support.
The award granting ceremony was graced by the presence of Mr. Khaled Babbou, AmCham Tunisia President, H.E. Daniel Rubinstein, the U.S. Ambassador to Tunisia, and many of AmCham Tunisia Board members and friends from golf amateurs.
Finally, many thanks go to the Residence Golf Course represented by Mr. Nidhal Ben Guebila and his team for the perfect organization.
Congratulations to the winners of this year’s tournament:
2émé Série Hommes
1éré Série Hommes
Série Dames
AmCham Tunisia Team met with the Tunisian American Young professionals (TAYP) Board, Mohamed Maalouche, Mr. Mondher Ben Hamida, and Mr. Sami Ben Romdhane on August 9th, 2016 at AmCham Tunisia premises.
This meeting was aimed to find ways of collaboration between the two parties in order to enhance the business relationship between Tunisian and US counterparts from the private and the public sector and to stimulate economic development and foster trade and technology transfer between the two countries and investments from the US.
AmCham Tunisia organized an AmCham Franchise Day in partnership with L’Association Tunisienne de Franchise (ATF); that was held on May 30th, 2016 at Le Paris Hotel.
The event gathered AmCham Tunisia and ATF members who have got the opportunity to have an overview on the guidelines to develop a franchise in Tunisia. It was an exceptional initiative witnessed an intervention from the U.S. by the American Franchise Expert, Prof. William Edwards, who studied the power of franchising; a rapid method of developing business and generating.
There were also a presentation from the CEO and Co-Founder of the One to One for Research and Polling, Mr. Youssef Meddeb, who provided insights and market study on the franchise sector in Tunisia.
The event was moderated by Mrs. Rym Bedoui, B&Co. Consulting, who introduced the methods to develop a franchise and the challenges and opportunities of the sector in Tunisia.
On May 6, 2016 in Washington D.C., the American Chamber of Commerce in Tunisia (AmCham Tunisia) participated in the first meeting of the U.S.-Tunisia Joint Economic Commission (JEC) as the representative of Tunisia’s private sector in this commission.
The first meeting of the JEC was held as part of the implementation of the U.S.-Tunisia Strategic Dialogue that was created on the occasion of President Beji Caid Essebsi’s visit to Washington in May 2015 to serve as a forum for promoting bilateral economic relations, expanding private sector ties between Tunisia and the United States, and promoting sustainable economic growth and job creation in both countries.
The meeting was co-chaired by Mrs. Catherine Novelli, Under Secretary of State for Economic Growth, Energy, and the Environment, on the American side and M. Ziad Ladhari, Minister of Vocational Training and Employment, on the Tunisian side. The AmCham delegation, led by Khaled Babbou, President of AmCham Tunisia, was composed of high-level representatives of Tunisian companies as well as representatives of U.S. companies operating in Tunisia. In addition to the Tunisian and American governments’ representatives and AmCham Tunisia delegation, the meeting has registered the participation of representatives of the American private sector, including American companies, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the National U.S.-Arab Chamber of Commerce, and the Tunisian American Young Professionals Association.
The general topic of the first meeting of the JEC was “Creating private sector jobs and bilateral opportunities through competitiveness and growth.” The breakout sessions focused on accelerating Tunisia’s competitiveness in three priority sectors: Agribusiness, Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), and Information and Communications Technology (ICT).
In addition to participating in the JEC meeting on May 6th, the delegation held high level meetings with think tanks as well as representatives from the US Chamber of Commerce, NUSACC, USAID, BCIU, OPIC, Carnegie, US trade representatives and other organizations. The meetings provided opportunities for the delegates to raise the awareness of Tunisia’s potentialities in trade and investment.
AmCham Tunisia President, Khaled Babbou, highlighted the delegation’s two main objectives in his speech to the JEC: 1) to make Tunisia a more attractive partner to the United States and the world and 2) to initiate an Economic Partnership Agreement between Tunisia and the United States, which would include a Free Trade Agreement. He also presented AmCham’s recommendations for growth in the three sectors that had been identified through AmCham Days, a consultative process in various stakeholder meetings.
He affirmed that the credibility and sustainability of the bilateral cooperation process, and hence its success, will critically depend on both countries’ commitment to turn the principles, values and objectives guiding the bilateral relations into policies and actions that will give content to what could otherwise become a merely rhetorical partnership.
Mr. Babbou ended his speech by emphasizing the Tunisian private sector’s commitment to working with government and civil society in order to provide solutions and create the conditions for more growth, jobs and prosperity in Tunisia, and for a stronger partnership with the United States.
Members of the Delegation were: Khaled Babbou, Tunisie Courtage; Amel Bouchamaoui, HBG Holding; Mondher Ben Ayed, TMI; Lamia Fourati, Onetech Holding; Mohamed Bridaa, Microsoft; Ziad Oueslati, AfricInvest; Mehdi Tamarziste, Meninx Holding; Mohamed Zaanouni, Zaanouni Law Firm; Noureddine Hajji, AMC EY; Kamel Zarrad, SARTEX; Abdelhakim Ben Hamouda, Consultant and Mohamed Nouri Jouini, MNJ Consulting.
Khaled Babbou, président de l’AmCham, a indiqué, dans une déclaration accordée à notre correspondant Wassim Ben Larbi, en marge des préparatifs de la réunion de la Commission économique mixte tuniso-américaine (JEC), que la mission principale du secteur privé est de promouvoir les exportations tunisiennes et booster échanges commerciaux entre la Tunisie et les Etats-Unis dans différents domaines. Il a indiqué, que cette initiative permettra de renforcer le partenariat économique et stratégique entre les deux pays.
Notons que la réunion de cette commission (JEC), considérée comme une première en Tunisie, sera tenue le 6 Mai 2016, à Washington DC.
AmCham Tunisia is sending its sixth delegation to Washington, D.C.to promote increased economic cooperation between the two countries. This year’s trip, Tunisia Door Knock & JEC Mission – 2016 will follow up on the work of the previous five successful AmCham Delegation visits to the US capital which have taken place during a challenging time for Tunisia both nationally and regionally.US-Tunisia relations have improved during this time and the US government and Congress have committed to support Tunisia’s transition. Within this context, the American Chamber of Commerce in Tunisia (AmCham Tunisia) has been working to promote a constructive dialogue on bilateral issues, and to identify policies and actions that would assist both nations in strengthening cooperation and enabling new investment and business opportunities.
AmCham Tunisia welcomed the launch of the US -Tunisia Strategic Dialogue in 2014, the stated purpose of which was to work toward a deep and comprehensive partnership. In 2015, the US -Tunisia Joint Economic Commission was formed to supplement the Strategic Dialogue and the Trade and Investment Framework Agreement in order to further advance economic partnership, expand trade and investment, and promote business opportunities.
This year’s delegation is made up of highly qualified Tunisians, members of AmCham Tunisia. From May 4th to May 6th, 2016 the 12 delegates will meet with think tanks, US trade representatives, US Chamber of Commerce representatives, NUSACC and other organizations in order to lobby for Tunisia’s investment potential.
The AmCham delegation will also participate in the Joint Economic Commission (JEC) Meeting on May 6th, 2016. The JEC is seen as an appropriate and effective institutional mechanism to deal with bilateral economic and development issues and to envision and enact policies, actions, and practical measures in connection with trade, investment, and sectoral cooperation.
The goals of Tunisia Door Knock & JEC Mission – 2016 are to: