Message from the President to the AmCham general Assembly, Tunis, december 17th, 2015 2015 was another outstanding year in the history of AmCham Tunisia, marked by contributions and accomplishments that make us unique and relevant. The year 2015 has also been marked by a significant increase in the size of the membership. AmCham Tunisia now proudly counts more than 330 Tunisian, American, and international companies. We are pleased with the continued growth and development of our activities and engagements in enabling better understanding, sharing knowledge, advancing the interest of member companies, and enhancing the economic and business environment. Enabling better understanding AmCham Tunisia has had an active engagement in fostering the bilateral relationships through conducting business delegations to the United States, taking an active part in the U.S.-Tunisia Strategic Dialogue, and organizing events for dialogue for members with peers, partners, and various stakeholders. The 2015 flagship event was the 2015 Investment and Entrepreneurship Conference, which was organized in partnership with PNB NAPEO and the US Embassy to Tunisia under the theme of “Building on Strategic Partnerships.” The conference, which gathered more than 490 participants, was an occasion for sharing insights, exchanging ideas, and discussing and better understanding strategic and policy issues related to investment and entrepreneurship, in order to build a dynamic commitment toward creating the conditions for strong and long-lasting partnerships between Tunisia, the other Maghreb countries, and the United States. Sharing knowledge AmCham Tunisia opened up to the academic world by establishing two junior chapters in Tunis Business School and Tunisia Polytechnic School and also through inaugurating the AmCham Tunisia-TBS Smart Center. This Center represents a creative partnership under the PNB NAPEO Program bringing together business and government efforts in innovation approaches and building beneficial bridges between the private sector and academia. Our association with the academia incited also in hosting US university delegations visiting Tunisia to study the educational environment and have presence in Tunisia. This is the case with the prestigious Columbia University who is working, with the assistance of AmCham Tunisia, on the implementation of its 9th “Columbia Global Center” in Tunisia. We were very active in issuing policy notes, investment guides, and business surveys, with the aim to demonstrate the potential of existing and emerging opportunities for investment and partnership in Tunisia and with the United States, and to discuss a number of challenges and policy issues relevant to decision makers in the public sector and the corporate and investment worlds. Advancing the interest of member companies We have made it a priority to identify and understand the issues facing our member companies, and to be the voice for these companies in communicating these issues to decision makers and working towards feasible and viable solutions. The last four years were very special and dynamic for AmCham Tunisia, highlighted by the affiliation to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which has consolidated the business ties with our U.S. Partners. At the regional level, AmCham Tunisia was actively present by chairing AmCham MENA Council, which has ensured more visibility to AmCham Tunisia and networking opportunities for our members. Enhancing the economic and business environment Through our engagement in advocacy and public policy activities, we have shared our vision and recommendations for open policy towards the international environment and the development of strong ties between Tunisia and the United States. We have issued policy notes and position letters on important topics like investment, entrepreneurship, technology and innovation, skills development, strategic partnership, economic and development cooperation with the United States. These documents are meant to discuss important issues and put forward a series of recommendations in key focus areas to feed the policy-making processes, help make Tunisia more attractive to international investors, and identify conditions for a strong, vibrant, and ever-deepening U.S-Tunisia relationship. We need also to highlight AmCham Tunisia's key role in withdrawing the travel alert, posted on the State Department website following the unfortunate attack on the US Embassy in Tunis. We also voiced, loud and clear, our condemnation of the terrorist attacks in Tunisia. I cannot end without thanking our members, our Committee members, the executive director and the staff for their precious contributions. I would also like to thank both the Tunisian and U.S. governments for encouraging and supporting us, and the U.S. Embassy in Tunis for actively supporting and participating in the Chamber's activities and events. For over twenty-five years, AmCham has worked hard to improve the Tunisia business environment in order to foster US investment in Tunisia, and it is my hope that it will continue to do so for many more years. As always, we count on your support, and we are looking forward to making the year 2016 even more special and more successful… We are Moving Forward!
