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He highlighted the efforts made by the government to overcome the effects of the world crisis and notably the reforms and programmes established to take up the challenges generated by the concluding in 1995 of the Association Accord with the European Union.

The PM reminded that these reforms and measures had focused since 1996 on reinforcing comprehensive development, improving business environment and conditions of investment, production and export for companies and on revising economic and financial laws with a view to simplifying them and bringing them in line with European laws.

He outpointed that the indicators recorded during the period 1995/2010 have been positive since 900, 000 jobs have been created and foreign investments increased to account at present for 4% of the GDP while they did not exceed 2%.

Exports, he added, contribute to the rate of 26%, to the growth rate , the foreign debt declined from 54% in 1995 to 37% in 2010, and the public debt was reduced to less than 40% of the GDP.

The PM went on saying that the reforms had also involved the social field and allowed to establish a series of mechanisms for the benefit of all the social classes and especially those with specific needs.

The government had indeed, he declared, focused its efforts on reinforcing the infrastructure, improving the environment of business and investments, inciting the private sector to invest in promising sectors and companies to gain the necessary skills to face the requirements of a free trade zone with the European Union and other friendly states.

He affirmed that Tunisian companies were now faced with many challenges and first of all integration into the world economy through boosting free trade in manufacturing industries and the services sector, the aim being to provide jobs for university graduates.

The PM outpointed that the productivity of Tunisian companies is low compared with that of industrialised countries (difference of 5%), and most of the companies are not listed on the stock exchange since out of 6,000 companies, only 56 of them are quoted on the stock exchange.

He stressed the need to take up the challenge of competitiveness that requires speeding up the pace of upgrading and improving quality and conformity with international and environmental standards.

The aim for next years, he added, is to increase productivity, develop basic infrastructure, restore industrial areas, increase key scientific specialities within universities and keeping up global balances.

As regards Tunisian companies' access to foreign markets, he said they should diversify their advertising and marketing campaigns and endeavour to better fill in the markets and in international distribution channels as well as improve governance, management and transparency and upgrade their human resources.

The PM expressed conviction that all the measures announced by President Zine el Abidine Ben Ali on the 23rd Anniversary of the Change will allow to increase Tunisia's potentialities to attract foreign investment.

In conclusion, he affirmed that taking up challenges in the current international situation is the responsibility of both the government and the companies.

Tomorrow's companies, he said, must be further integrated into the economic fabric and achieve greater productivity, stressing that all these challenges must be taken up to face the challenge of employment and raise the country to the highest ranks among advanced nations.