Ahlem Béji Sayeb, Chief of Staff of the Minister of Industry, Mines and Energy said the number of workers in Tunisia's industrial sector has risen from 517,000 to 530,000 over the past five years. Responding to questions from MPs during a plenary session dedicated to debating the budget of the Ministry of Industry, Sayeb pointed out that the decline in the number of companies, from 5,300 with more than 10 employees to the current 4,900, does not mean the closure of companies, but a reduction in the number of employees. Sayeb highlighted the results achieved by the industrial sector in terms of project development in Tunisia, which has risen from 36% to 43% in the last 5 years. She reviewed a number of measures planned for 2024, including TND 39 million for the business modernisation programme and TND 25 million for the Industrial Promotion and Decentralisation Fund (FOPRODI). The Ministry has developed an Industrial and Innovation Strategy, which is an important step towards establishing a vision for the industrial sector strategy based on energy savings. She pointed out that the strategy, developed in a participatory manner, will promote a clear future vision for Tunisian industry in new areas such as smart industries and start-ups. Sayeb stressed the importance of revising the development model to achieve higher growth rates by attracting investment, diversifying exports, improving the governance of agricultural systems and transition chains towards smart industries. The ministry plans to increase the industrial sector's value-added contribution to GDP to 18% by 2025 and 20% by 2035. The strategy will also double the value of the country's exports to 18 billion dinars by 2025 and 36 billion dinars by 2023, it added. The strategy also aims to create 640,000 jobs in the industrial sector by 2025 and 840,000 jobs by 2035. She also announced that her ministry is working to sign new partnership agreements, citing olive oil and other strategic sectors as examples. Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse