The Centre for Export Promotion (CEPEX) has inaugurated a trade representative office in the Senegalese capital, Dakar, on Monday, the centre announced. The opening is part of CEPEX's strategy to strengthen its network of trade missions in sub-Saharan Africa, bringing the total number to six. The main objective is to support the operational efforts of the CEPEX Representations in Africa, including Abidjan in Côte d'Ivoire, Nairobi in Kenya, Douala in Cameroon, Abuja, the capital of Nigeria, and Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). This initiative aims to activate Tunisia's economic diplomacy and promote the country's exports to emerging markets. According to the same source, the new representative office in Dakar is expected to contribute significantly to the positioning of Tunisian products in this promising and important market, which has a consumer base of more than 300 million people across Africa and serves as a gateway to key markets such as Mauritania, Gambia, Guinea and Mali. In 2022, Senegal was Tunisia's second economic partner in sub-Saharan Africa, accounting for 12% of Tunisia's exports to the region and 3.1% of its exports to the African continent as a whole. Senegal is a member of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the direct flight between the two countries is expected to streamline the movement of Tunisian businessmen and exporters seeking to strengthen their commercial presence in these markets and neighbouring countries. The volume of trade between Tunisia and Senegal reached TND 180.9 million in the first seven months of 2023. Tunisian exports recorded a significant increase of 51% during the first seven months of 2023, reaching TND 175.1 million, compared to TND 116.2 million during the same period in 2022. As part of CEPEX's promotional programme for 2023, a business mission to Dakar is planned for December 10-14, 2023 for a delegation of businesspeople operating in various sectors, including agri-food, construction, general contracting, pharmaceutical s, medical supplies, packaging, services and communication technologies. At present, CEPEX has 15 offices worldwide, distributed as follows: four in Europe (Milan, Italy; Rotterdam, the Netherlands; Warsaw, Poland; and Moscow, Russia), three in the Maghreb (Casablanca, Morocco; Algiers, Algeria; and Tripoli, Libya), and two in the Middle East (Amman, Jordan; and Dubai, United Arab Emirates), in addition to the six offices in sub-Saharan Africa.

Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse