TUNIS (TAP)- The commitment of the European Investment Bank (EIB) to provide increased support to South Mediterranean countries and its decision to allocate 6 billion euros by 2013 to this "strategic region for the European Union, " including 3. 5 billion euros to Egypt and Tunisia, were at the centre of the 11th Euro-Mediterranean Meeting of Economy and Finance Ministers held Tuesday in Brussels. This was the first high-level meeting devoted to supporting South Mediterranean countries' economies to be held after the launch of Deauville partnership (G8 Summit, May 26-27 in France).
This meeting provided the occasion to discuss the EU answer to the changes that happened in the region, especially the support that the EIB can provide as first financial investor in the Mediterranean through the Euro-Mediterranean Investment and Partnership Facility (FEMIP).
Planning and International Co-operation Minister Abdelhamid Triki attended this meeting co-chaired by the Polish Finance Minister, whose country is currently ensuring EU chairmanship, and EIB Vice President Philippe de Fontaine Vive.
The Minister explained that the current challenge facing the Interim Government is to mitigate the effects of the current situation through a revival plan aimed to cope, in the short term, with the problems of unemployment and regional disparities, on the one hand, and prepare the country's future through the adoption of reforms in matters of governance and incentives to the private sector to boost growth, on the other.
The Minister urged the EU to provide greater, more efficient and especially swifter support to the economic revival and the restoring of investors' confidence in the countries of the region.
Participants adopted, at this meeting, the FEMIP operational progamme for 2012-2013, reaffirming EIB commitment to increase job creation, a top priority for the countries of the region which are facing high unemployment rate, and develop entrepreneurship through support to SMEs.
© Tunis-Afrique Presse 2011
