Tunisia’s 49 years of prosperity [Archives:2005/827/Last Page]
March 24 2005
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The Republic of Tunisia celebrated the 49th anniversary of its independence on March 20. The celebrations showed that Tunisians live in a country that respects the principles of human rights.
Tunisia has made many achievements in development, particularly in tourism, investment, industry, health, and education. Tunisian investments (chiefly in cement, cars and electronic devices) grew from 151 million Tunisian Dinars in 1987, to one billion in 2004. The country also attracted around six million tourists in 2004.
Laboratory industries have brought a 35 per cent increase to the national economy as well as an 18 per cent increase in the foreign investments per year. The food industry achieves investments of 17.3 per cent, and the clothing industry increased by 12.4 per cent.
Vocational training also witnessed a significant expansion the national bank now provides funding opportunities for businesspeople. These efforts led to the creation of 50,000 jobs.
The number of basic health centers rose to 2120 in 2004 with an average of one center for every 4240 people and their were also successes in reproductive health care, which has helped bring the rate of population growth down to 1.12 per cent.
Education in Tunisia has experienced several improvements, particularly in basic education, as the rate of children enrolled in schools at the age of 6 reached 99 per cent. Girls' education witnessed a noticeable growth in various areas. University enrollments increased by 28 per cent, compared to two per cent in 1987.
Since the 1980s, Yemeni-Tunisian ties have witnessed continuing development and were consolidated by President Saleh and his Tunisian counterpart Zein al-Abedine Bin Ali. The regular joint ministerial committees between the capitals of the two countries is one of the prominent aspects of their bilateral cooperation.
The agricultural cooperation between the two countries has been enhanced through numerous training courses staged by some Tunisian institutions to develop the skills of Yemeni agriculture workers.
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