Tuesday 15 October 2002

Press Briefing Notes
Tuesday 15 October 2002
Spokesperson: Jean Philippe Chauzy

TUNISIA- Ministerial Meeting on Migration in the Western Mediterranean ITALY- Seminar on Investment Opportunities in Tunisia
TUNISIA- Ministerial Meeting on Migration in the Western Mediterranean- Ministers and representatives of member Governments of the Western Mediterranean Dialogue 5+5 (Algeria, France, Italy, Libya, Malta, Mauritania, Morocco, Portugal, Spain and Tunisia) are meeting on 16 and 17 October in Tunis for crucial discussions on development of cooperative approaches to migration in the region.

The event, which is organised by the Government of Tunisia in close cooperation with the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and with the support of the Government of Italy and others, will allow participants to discuss a broad range of migration issues with the aim of furthering ongoing regional cooperation in the field of migration management.

Representatives of the European Commission, the International Labour Organization, the United Nations Development Programme, the Arab Maghreb Union, the League of Arab States, the Arab Labour Organization and the World Trade Organisation will also attend the Tunis meeting.

Discussions will focus on ways to organise labour migration in the region with an emphasis on access to labour markets for regular migrants in countries of the Western Mediterranean.

The issues of irregular migration and of trafficking in human beings will also be addressed, with an emphasis on prevention, protection of victims of trafficking, in particular women and children.

The process of integration of regular migrants will be discussed, in particular in relation to access to employment and vocational training, housing and social, health and other economic issues.

The links between migration and development will be discussed with a view to find ways to fully associate migrants in the development of their country of origin both through the transfer of skills and of qualified human resources and through remittance management, investments and micro-credit. Participants will also examine the role of development assistance in countries and regions with considerable migration potential.

The Western Mediterranean 5+5 dialogue was launched in December 1990 in Rome. Foreign Ministers of the 5+5 countries, who met in Lisbon in January 2001, underlined the need for countries in the region to cooperate in an organised and coordinated way in dealing with migration issues. IOM lends its expertise and acts as an honest broker to support regional consultative processes on migration related issues in the Americas, Africa, Asia and Europe.

The programme of the ministerial meeting is available on the IOM website http://www.iom.int/tunis5-5/



ITALY- Seminar on Investment Opportunities in Tunisia- IOM and the Chamber of Commerce of Turin will next week organise a seminar in Turin entitled „Tunisia - from Cooperation to Development: Investment Opportunities for Italian Enterprises.“

The aim of the seminar is to provide an overview of investment and cooperation opportunities for Italian and Tunisian enterprises, in the context of promoting economic development in areas of Tunisia with high emigration rates.

Between 1996 and 2001, the Tunisian economy grew by an average 5.1% annually, and the country aims to reach a 5.5% growth rate by 2006. More than 2,400 foreign firms are currently established in Tunisia, mostly in the manufacturing industry. With a total of 511 Italian businesses in Tunisia, Italy is Tunisia’s second trading partner, after France.

IOM’s Italian-funded PROCHE programme (Programme Pilote de Promotion du Développement des Zones d’Emigration en Tunisie) will encourage Tunisian nationals, especially those resident abroad, as well as Italian entrepreneurs, to invest in local enterprises that will create jobs, generate income and improve the living conditions of local workers in areas with high emigration rates.

One of the initiatives funded by the programme is improvement to tourist facilities at the Haidra archaeological site in the Kasserine region. The work was implemented with the help of 30 Italian students, Tunisians studying abroad and local young people.

Kasserine will also be represented at an international Food Fair to be held in Turin next week to promote local products and foster investment and tourism in the region.

The investment seminar will take place on Friday 25 October 2002, at the Centro Congressi Torino Incontra, Sala Einaudi Via Nino Costa, 8 - Torino. The Food Fair will run from 24th to 28th October in Turin Lingotto Fiere.

For more information, please call Franscesca Ferrari, IOM Rome on 00 39 06 44 186 223, emal fferrari@iom.int