Mehdi Jomaa, Tunisian minister of industry Photo: Courtesy of the Tunisian embassy in Beijing

 
Tunisia is looking for new partnership in Asia and welcomes Chinese enterprises to invest in the country, the Tunisian minister of industry said.

Tunisia is seeking to speed up its economic development and there will be major infrastructure projects, which can provide good opportunities for Chinese enterprises, Mehdi Jomaa told the Global Times in an interview in Beijing on Friday.

China and Tunisia enjoy a good relationship, said Jomaa, noting that Tunisia has been learning from China to manage issues such as unbalanced growth in different areas.

However, in terms of business cooperation, there are fewer than one dozen Chinese enterprises doing business in Tunisia, said Jomaa.

"Tunisia is really happy with the Chinese companies' presence, and we are trying hard to make this grow and attract more companies," he added.

Tunisia, which was the birthplace of the Arab Spring in 2011, has seen political conflict between government and the opposition after the mostly peaceful revolution.

Jomma said that the political and social instability during the transitional period is affecting the Tunisian economy, but the impact is limited as 80 percent of the country's trade is done with European countries.

Tunisia's GDP decreased by 1.9 percent in 2011 due to the revolution, but it achieved a growth of 3.6 percent that year, according to the World Bank.

The country faces challenges in the near future as high expectations from the young generation are putting massive pressure on the government and budget, but once the Tunisian government stabilizes the political situation and avoids a big deficit, the economy will rebound in two or three years, said the minister.

As Tunisia is seeking new land for growth, it could serve as a platform for Chinese enterprises through which they can get access to bigger markets, said Jomaa.

"Given the massive investment we want to do in infrastructure and big projects, that is a good opportunity for China's enterprises," he said. 

However, there is a lack of knowledge between the two countries compared with the availability of opportunities, said the minister. 

"We hope people (of the two sides) can work together to create incentives to make Chinese companies invest in Tunisia and also bring knowledge," said the minister.