Tunisia, Libya Agree on Boosting Investment, Trade

The Libyan and Tunisian prime ministers during their press conference in Tripoli. (AFP)
The Libyan and Tunisian prime ministers during their press conference in Tripoli. (AFP)
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Tunisia, Libya Agree on Boosting Investment, Trade

The Libyan and Tunisian prime ministers during their press conference in Tripoli. (AFP)
The Libyan and Tunisian prime ministers during their press conference in Tripoli. (AFP)

Tunisia and Libya agreed on boosting investment, overcoming difficulties and restoring trade during a visit by Prime Minister Hichem Mechichi to Tripoli aimed at relaunching economic cooperation.

Over a thousand Tunisian investors and 150 companies participated in the Libyan-Tunisian Economic Forum and Exhibition that was held during his visit. Investors and companies from several sectors, including construction, infrastructure, trade, services, and banking, took part in the event.

Former Tunisian Trade Minister Mohsen Hassan indicated that the delegation's visit to Libya was successful, leading to the bilateral agreement on restoring trade exchange and investment in both directions.

Hassan also noted that the meeting addressed the right of movement and ownership, border crossings and regularizing the status of Tunisian workers in Libya, noting that it will have a direct impact on trade and investment operations.

Tunisian economist Ridha Saidi said that the reconstruction of Libya is a major investment opportunity for several countries, including Tunisia.

Both the Tunisian and Libyan sides indicated that the main goal of the visit was to increase the level of investment, by organizing a series of meetings, as part of an ambitious plan that includes a program for economic exchange and investment in important sectors such as energy, alternative energies and employment.

Trade exchange between Tunisia and Libya witnessed a significant decline in the years following 2011. It previously reached about $4 billion annually, which directly contributed to the development of the regions in southeastern Tunisia and western Libya.

Tunisia is seeking to benefit from the gradual recovery of the neighboring country’s economy and is working on assisting the Libyan government in implementing a new economic program based on the development of non-oil revenues.

Libya wants to increase its non-oil revenues given that 90 percent of the national economy depends on oil.



German Central Bank Chief: US Tariffs Would Eat Up German Growth in 2025

President of the Bundesbank, Dr Joachim Nagel, speaks during an interview at the G20 finance meeting in Durban, South Africa, on July 17, 2025. REUTERS/Rogan Ward
President of the Bundesbank, Dr Joachim Nagel, speaks during an interview at the G20 finance meeting in Durban, South Africa, on July 17, 2025. REUTERS/Rogan Ward
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German Central Bank Chief: US Tariffs Would Eat Up German Growth in 2025

President of the Bundesbank, Dr Joachim Nagel, speaks during an interview at the G20 finance meeting in Durban, South Africa, on July 17, 2025. REUTERS/Rogan Ward
President of the Bundesbank, Dr Joachim Nagel, speaks during an interview at the G20 finance meeting in Durban, South Africa, on July 17, 2025. REUTERS/Rogan Ward

The Bundebank expects growth of 0.7% in Germany in 2026 but this could be eaten up if US tariffs of 30% threatened by President Donald Trump were implemented, the central bank's President Joachim Nagel told Reuters in an interview.

“If tariffs materialize in August, a recession in Germany in 2025 cannot be ruled out,” Nagel said in Durban, South Africa, where the meeting of G20 finance chiefs is taking place on Thursday and Friday.

The 30% tariff on European goods threatened by Trump would, if implemented, be a game-changer for Europe, wiping out whole chunks of transatlantic commerce and forcing a rethink of its export-led economic model.

“The outlook for the German economy has just improved, especially due to the fiscal program that has been announced and is now being implemented by the German federal government, which also sets the right accents: investments in infrastructure, in future technologies,” Nagel said. “But this uncertainty could significantly weaken a positive outlook.”

Also, German Finance Minister Klingbeil told Reuters on Thursday that the European Union should find solutions to its finances without using common borrowing.

Klingbeil said the EU had joint debt in the last few years, but that was in a crisis situation during the COVID pandemic, he said in an interview on the sidelines of a G20 meeting in Durban, South Africa.

“Overall, we need to resolve the finances of the EU differently than through a policy of joint debt,” he said.

“Fortunately, we are not in such a crisis right now,” he added.