![Tunisia PM seeks economic boost from France trip](https://photo-cdn.urdupoint.com/media/2016/11/_2/740x404/pic_1478631248_1.jpg)
Tunisia PM Seeks Economic Boost From France Trip
Faizan Hashmi Published November 08, 2016 | 11:05 PM
![Tunisia PM seeks economic boost from France trip](https://photo-cdn.urdupoint.com/media/2016/11/_2/740x404/pic_1478631248_1.jpg)
TUNIS, Nov 8 (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 08th Nov, 2016 ) : Tunisian Prime Minister Youssef Chahed heads to Paris on Wednesday in a bid to drum up French investment in the struggling economy of its former North African colony.
Chahed, 41, will meet his counterpart Manuel Valls and President Francois Hollande during the "strategic" visit, he told AFP in an interview on Tuesday. "Five years after the revolution, we have succeeded in the democratic transition...
(but) today we face an important economic challenge to consolidate the Tunisian democratic experience," Chahed said. "We obviously rely on France to help Tunisia at this critical moment." Tunisia remains mired with high unemployment and anaemic growth nearly six years after a popular uprising unseated longtime strongman Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, launching the 2011 Arab Spring wave of regional protests.
Chahed took over as prime minister in August after lawmakers passed a vote of no confidence in the previous government following just 18 months in office. "The democratic transition was enormously costly to Tunisia," Chahed said, adding that his country "today needs huge aid at the economic level".
The years since the 2011 uprising have seen Tunisia hit by a string of extremists-claimed attacks, including assaults last year on its vital tourism sector which killed dozens of foreign visitors.
Tunisia's economy grew just 1.2 percent in the first half of 2016, according to official figures, with unemployment at 15 percent. The country's efforts to rebound from unrest have also been undermined by chaos in neighbouring Libya, according to Chahed.
"All of this has a cost and I think our partner France must assume... the cost when it comes to Tunisia," the premier said. While acknowledging that France was making "important efforts" to help, Chahed said that French military aid could be "far higher" than the 20-million-euro security plan the two countries agreed in October 2015.
"Tunisia needs direct foreign investment and (Wednesday's visit) will be an occasion to restart the investment machine to create jobs," he said. "We are trying to create a favourable climate for French investments in Tunisia... we're trying to get a return of French tourists," Chahed added.
Related Topics
Recent Stories
![Cricket: England v West Indies 3rd Test scoreboard](https://photo-cdn.urdupoint.com/media/2024/07/_1/235x155/pic_1722019914.jpg)
Cricket: England v West Indies 3rd Test scoreboard
![Finance minister briefs Chinese officials on refor ..](https://photo-cdn.urdupoint.com/media/2024/07/_1/235x155/pic_1722019922.jpg)
Finance minister briefs Chinese officials on reform agenda, engagement with IMF
![Finland says Russian vessel violated its territori ..](https://photo-cdn.urdupoint.com/media/2024/07/_1/235x155/pic_1722019912.jpg)
Finland says Russian vessel violated its territorial waters
![Olympic opening ceremony under way on River Seine](https://photo-cdn.urdupoint.com/media/2024/07/_1/235x155/pic_1722019266.jpg)
Olympic opening ceremony under way on River Seine
![West Indies' treble strike rocks England in third ..](https://photo-cdn.urdupoint.com/media/2024/07/_1/235x155/pic_1722019264.jpg)
West Indies' treble strike rocks England in third Test
![Ukraine court orders detention of suspect in murde ..](https://photo-cdn.urdupoint.com/media/2024/07/_1/235x155/pic_1722019262.jpg)
Ukraine court orders detention of suspect in murder of nationalist ex-MP
![Long queues, ticketing problems ahead of Paris ope ..](https://photo-cdn.urdupoint.com/media/2024/07/_1/235x155/pic_1722019015.jpg)
Long queues, ticketing problems ahead of Paris opening ceremony
![Rana Sanaullah Khan joins Paris 2024 Olympics inau ..](https://photo-cdn.urdupoint.com/media/2024/07/_1/235x155/pic_1722019638.jpg)
Rana Sanaullah Khan joins Paris 2024 Olympics inauguration reception
![Glowing tributes mark 69th birthday of President Z ..](https://photo-cdn.urdupoint.com/media/2024/07/_1/235x155/pic_1722019637.jpg)
Glowing tributes mark 69th birthday of President Zardari at Governor's House
![Players unaware of spying scandal as Canada Olympi ..](https://photo-cdn.urdupoint.com/media/2024/07/_1/235x155/pic_1722019635.jpg)
Players unaware of spying scandal as Canada Olympic coach sent home: official
![Naqvi hails Pak women cricketers for going down fi ..](https://photo-cdn.urdupoint.com/media/2024/07/_1/235x155/pic_1722019013.jpg)
Naqvi hails Pak women cricketers for going down fighting against SL
!['Sabotage' on French rail network before Olympics: ..](https://photo-cdn.urdupoint.com/media/2024/07/_1/235x155/pic_1722019634.jpg)
'Sabotage' on French rail network before Olympics: What we know
More Stories From World
-
Biden talks Gaza ceasefire efforts with king of Jordan
4 hours ago -
Sinaloa Cartel co-founder pleads not guilty after stunning US capture
4 hours ago -
Panama says Venezuela blocked ex-presidents going to observe polls
4 hours ago -
Ethiopia mourns victims of landslide tragedy
5 hours ago -
Khan Yunis fighting displaces 180,000 Gazans in four days: UN
5 hours ago -
Trump slams rivals as he meets Netanyahu in Florida
5 hours ago
-
Obama & his wife, Michelle, officially endorse US VP Kamala Harris for president
5 hours ago -
Rain, cooling slow huge blaze in Canada's Jasper park
5 hours ago -
Airbus and Boeing supremacy secure despite turbulence
5 hours ago -
S.African police detain 95 Libyans at suspected military camp
5 hours ago -
'Slapping therapist' guilty over UK diabetic woman's death
6 hours ago -
Panama says Venezuela blocked flight of ex-presidents going to observe polls
6 hours ago