Indian-Tunisian relations are historical and friendly and date back to the days of the struggle for independence. Tunisians acknowledge with appreciation the strong support that India extended to them in their struggle for freedom. In fact, old-time Tunisians still refer to Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru as inspiring figures.
Indo-Tunisian relations are characterized today by regular consultations and multidisciplinary cooperation. They record every year visits to Tunisia and India of their senior officials. Bilateral cooperation between India and Tunisia is growing increasingly, particularly in the commercial and scientific fields (Textile, IT, biotechnology and pharmaceuticals). The trade between Tunisia and India records an increasing annual growth rate. An annual quota of training is offered to Tunisia under the Indian programme of technical cooperation, ITEC.
Trade: Indo-Tunisian economic and commercial exchanges consist mainly of trading in primary commodities. Trade between the two countries is in Tunisia’s favour.
The items exported from India to Tunisia are tea, spices, cotton and synthetic yarn, rubber products, basic chemicals, plastics and linoleum products, leather products, engineering goods and transport equipment. The main products exported to India are fertilizers, rock phosphates, phosphoric acid and leather.
Partnership and joint ventures : A number of Indian companies are/were operating in Tunisia in several sectors (power, solar energy, iron, auto components, shoes, tobacco, IT). Many Indian companies have participated in several international tenders in Tunisia. An Indo-Tunisian phosphates joint venture is actually being set up in Tunisia. Tunisia’s economic prosperity is being fostered by the combined effects of large-scale privatization, globalization and diversification.
Tunisia: a doorstep of a market of more than 500 million consumers : Tunisia is at the heart of the Euro - Mediterranean logistic chain. On 1 January 2008 it became the first country on the southern rim of the Mediterranean to have implemented a free trade zone with the European Union, opening the door to a market of more than 500 million consumers. This geographically strategic position, which made Tunisia a crossroads of civilizations in the past, makes it a natural regional hub for international investment, trade and production today.
Tunisia has adopted a new strategy for the years going up to 2016. It targets innovation, technology, and activities with high added value. Tunisia’s strategy targets qualitative and quantitative objectives for growth, know-how and partnership. Possible areas of cooperation between India and Tunisia exist in automobile, engineering, IT, biotechnology, pharmaceutical and textiles.
One of the key reasons for Tunisia’s economic prosperity is the various schemes set up to attract investment (investment guarantee scheme and schemes for suspension of double taxation, for duty-free access for industrial products, preferential access for agricultural products,…)
Tunisia offers foreign investors an attractive range of services and advantages and has defined a favourable legal framework based on the investment incentive code. Foreigners may, without prior authorization, hold up to 100 % of the capital. Financial and fiscal incentives have been reserved by the investment incentive code to areas known as “regional development encouragement zones” and “regional priority development zones”. The projects located in these zones benefit respectively from an investment bonus of 15% (capped at 350,000 dollars) and 25% (capped at 570,000 dollars) of the amount of the investment as well as a total exoneration of company tax and income tax of the physical persons for the first 10 years of the activity and a reduction of 50% of the tax base for the following 10 years.
Treaties and conventions : The two countries have signed a number of agreements in areas of agriculture, development of small scale industries, technology and science…
* Agreement on cooperation in science and technology in the field of peaceful use of nuclear energy.
* Agreement on cooperation in science and technology.
* Agreement on economic and commercial cooperation.
* Trade Agreement.
* Cultural Convention.
