Tunisian Minister lauds Qatar’s support

Tunisian Minister of Investment and International Cooperation Riadh Bettaieb has lauded Qatar’s support for his country before the revolution of 4th January 2011 and after it in particular. This came at a press conference the Tunisian Minister held here today. Riadh said besides Qatar’s grant of a US$500 million loan with an annual interest rate not exceeding 2.5 percent to Tunisia after the revolution the two countries signed a number of cooperation agreements in several different areas. The agreements, he said, include one to protect investments and avoid double taxation, while the others are in the field of tourism through the Tozeur Desert project in the south-west, which was launched by HH the Heir Apparent Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani during his visit to Tunisia last July. The Minister also said that the agreements concluded between his country and Qatar, which also contribute to financing a housing project in a suburb of Tunis, also include energy, environment and restoration of some archaeological sites in the city of Kairouan. Regarding the future prospects of cooperation between Qatar and Tunisia in the field of investment, the Minister said with the signing of an agreement to protect investments during the Tunisian participation in business forum that was recently hosted by Doha the future looks promising.