NEOLIBERALISMWATCH-Tunisia lures foreign investment http://www.magharebia.com/cocoon/awi/xhtml1/en_GB/features/awi/features/2011/06/20/feature-03

About 1,500 businessmen, experts and policy-makers from 26 countries gathered in Gammarth last week for the first international economic event in Tunisia since the ouster of the former regime.The Tunisia Investment Forum, which ended Friday (June 17th), aimed to spotlight the positive effects of the revolution on the country's business climate and the need to attract foreign direct investment during the transitional period."We stand in solidarity with the Tunisian people, seeking to support new forms of partnership and ready to promote the image of Tunisia as a site bursting with opportunities," US Assistant Secretary of State Jose W. Fernandez said at the opening of the two-day event.

Special attention was paid to the U.S.-North Africa Partnership for Economic Opportunity (NAPEO), aimed at promoting trade exchange. The US also pledged to support the "Open Skies" aviation policy accord. "Security conditions have improved in the country, which can boost confidence in investing in the country," said Mustapha Kamel Nabli, Governor of the Central Bank of Tunisia.He added that "investors can be sure that investment risks can be disposed of" and "human capital in Tunisia is the source of success".

"It is necessary to reform the whole of investment as a component of success for investment in Tunisia, through the establishment of clear and transparent investment policy and promoting partnership between the public and private sectors," said Aart De Geus, Deputy Secretary-General of the Organization for Economic cooperation and Development (OECD).European Commissioner for Trade Karel De Gucht underscored that the EU is "the first partner of Tunisia and will remain true to its commitments to Tunisia". "The European Union is waiting for the green light from the Tunisian government to push forward negotiations on the liberalisation of services and manufactured food products, and to facilitate the granting of visas for professionals," he said.

[OK LETS DIG IN SHALL WE?...Sponsors http://www.tunisiainvestmentforum.tn/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=15&Itemid=32 Exclusive sponsor BG TUNISIA http://www.bg-group.com (THINK THEY ARE TUNISIAN?NOT!)

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Board of Directors http://www.bg-group.com/AboutBG/BoardofDirectors/Pages/BGBoardofDirectors.aspx (MUST SEE!!!)

Chairman (age 67) Sir Robert Wilson KCMG -Most of Robert’s career was with Rio Tinto where he became chief executive in 1991 and then executive chairman from 1997 until his retirement in 2003. From 2003 to 2009, he was non-executive chairman of The Economist Group.External appointments: Robert is currently senior independent director of GlaxoSmithKline plc.

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Chief Executive (age 58) Sir Frank Chapman KCMG - : Frank joined British Gas plc in November 1996 as Managing Director, Exploration and Production. He is an engineer and has worked in the oil and gas industry for 36 years. Prior to joining the Group, he spent a total of 22 years with Royal Dutch Shell plc and BP plc.

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Chief Financial Officer and Executive Director (age 50) Fabio Barbosa - Fabio was, until June 2010, the chief financial officer at the Brazilian mining company Vale SA, the largest private sector company in Latin America and the second-largest metals and mining company in the world by market capitalisation. Prior to joining Vale in 2002, he spent seven years in the Brazilian Ministry of Finance, rising to the role of national treasury secretary. He is a former adviser to one of the executive directors of the World Bank.

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[THIS EVENT CATERS TO DIRECT FOREIGN INVESTMENT WITH AN EMPHASIS ON PRIVATIZATION..IM PRESSED FOR TIME,SO WHAT ILL DO IS .I'LL CONTINUE TO UPDATE BLOG,THEN IN LATE AFTERNOON ILL RETURN HERE TO HIGHLIGHT SOME PLAYERS AND CORPORATIONS INVOLVED...AND OF COURSE,SPOTLIGHT THEIR GOALS AND ACTIVITIES...MEANWHILE REALIZE THAT EUROPE STILL HAS NOT FORGIVEN TUNISIAS ILLEGALLY INCURRED FOREIGN DEBT ,THIS IS SIGNIFICANT,WICH IS ALSO WHY THE ENW EXISTING PUPPET GOVERNMENT WILL ALLOW THE OPENING UP TO FOREIGN EXPLOITATION)