Opening the gates to the Arab world
Over 140,000 Polish holidaymakers went to Tunisia last summer. Now the Tunisian government wants Polish entrepreneurs to follow in their footsteps, as well as explore the market and invest in the country's economy, which grew by 4.2 percent last year.
"Our goal is to attract the attention of Polish firms and to demonstrate the direction of our development. We want to achieve that by organizing meetings among Polish and Tunisian businessmen," said Abdelwaheb Abdullah, Tunisia's Minister of Foreign Affairs.
The first such forum was recently organized by the Confederation of Polish Employers (KPP) and the Tunisian Union of Industry, Trade and Craft (UTICA). The two organizations have signed a letter of intent to develop their collaboration.
According to Abdullah, both countries should focus on sectors where both economies could complement each other. Tunisians are interested in the exchange of research and development results, as well as a growth in bilateral trade.
Yemen is another country inviting Polish capital. The Ministry of Industry and Economy recently published a list of over 100 investment projects worth some $8 (zł.22.6) billion, mainly in infrastructure, energy, fisheries, real estate and tourism.
"Since the 1990s, Yemen has been implementing administrative and economic reforms on a large scale," said Shaif Badr Abdullah, Yemen's Ambassador to Poland. "Our market is open to foreign investors and our pro-investment law creates very good conditions for companies. The biggest advantages of the Yemeni market are relatively cheap services, low land prices and a cheap labor force," he added.
Currently, Saudi Arabia is Yemen's biggest investor. Polish companies are mainly known for their engineers and large contracts completed in the 1970s. Now they have a chance to return because the Ministry of Economy wants to intensify Poland's economic links with the Middle East, and Prime Minister Jarosław Kaczyński is planning to visit the region in September. Both Tunisia and Yemen want to become Poland's gates to the Middle Eastern market.
