In the implementation framework of the ENPARD South Support Project II , the Ministry of Agriculture, Hydraulic Resources and Fisheries along with CIHEAM Montpellier organized at the invitation of the Tunisian Union of Agriculture and Fisheries (UTAP) and in collaboration with the Delegation of the European Union in Tunisia, the seminar "Privileged partnership between Tunisia and the EU: what impacts on the agricultural and rural sector? »  that was held October 29, 2015 from 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. during the International Exhibition of Agriculture, Agricultural Machinery and Fisheries, at the Kram Exhibition Center.

 

Inaugurated by Mr. Youssef CHAHED, State Secretary for Fisheries at the Ministry of Agriculture, speeches at the seminar were delivered by:

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-         Mrs. Michaela DODINI: Head of the Sales Section at the EU Delegation in Tunisia.

-         Mr. Omar BEHI: Vice-President of UTAP.

-         Mr. Denis POMMIER: Cooperation Attaché "Agricultural and Rural Sustainable Development» at the EU Delegation, Tunisia.

-         Mr. Walid BEL HAJ AMOR: Vice-President of the Arab Institute of Business Managers as moderator.

-         Mr. Jean-Paul PELLISSIER: Deputy Director of the CIHEAM Montpellier and ESSP II Team Leader.

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M. Abdelhalim GUESMI,Deputy Director at the Directorate-General of Studies and Agricultural Development, represented the Ministry of Agriculture during the debate.

 

Over 200 people attended this event representing the different groups of actors in agriculture and rural sector in Tunisia. The extent and diversity of the audience clearly demonstrate the importance of this subject in the Tunisian agricultural news. You can find more details about the participants in a record which can be downloaded at the end of the article.

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The goal of the roundtable was to present the perspectives of different stakeholders of agriculture and rural development sectors through speakers (public administration, professional organizations and European institutions) concerning the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Agreement between Tunisia and the European Union.

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Mr. Youssef CHAHED indicated that the public administration will ensure that the basic principles of negotiation with the European Union, discussed previously, will be fully respected. Moreover, according to the State Secretary, the partnership with the EU should not be limited to a simple trade agreement but should reach to a political agreement that would allow Tunisia to continue its economic and political transition. Echoing his view and with the will to demonstrate the agreement’s ”political” nature, Ms. DODINI stressed that DCFTA would have very little impact on the European economy. Moreover, the head of the sales section at the EU delegation in Tunisia said that a 300,000 euros donation has been mobilized for financing the necessary sectorial studies that will be undertaken by the Tunisian authorities in order to measure the impact of the DCFTA. In the same context, Mr. POMMIER recalled that the support from the EU to Tunisia in terms of rural and agricultural development has increased from an average of 5 million Euros per year over the last thirty years of the former regime to 14 million per year since 2011. For his part, Mr. BEHI presented DCFTA as an historical opportunity for Tunisia to carry out the necessary structural reforms that will upgrade the agricultural and rural sectors.

 

For further information, you can download the detailed record of the interventions or check the video below assembled from a report on the seminar aired during the newscast on El Wataniya 1 October 29 (available only in French and Arabic).