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Leading news

Meda Industry: Invest in Med Board meeting in Cairo, 21 April 2010
What positioning for Mediterranean industry in the post crisis perspective ? How shaping a Euro-Mediterranean arbitration center acceptable for EU, Med enterprises and for the associated countries states ? How business organisations can sustain their co-operations accross the region to pave the way for an economic integration ?These are among the questions to be discussed at the Meda Industry conference held on 21-22 April 2010 at Grand Hyatt Hotel in Cairo. The two day event alternate public sessions and MedAlliance private board meetings related to Invest in Med programme (21 April 2010 PM). Individual business meetings will be scheduled in parallel.  [Read+]  

ASCAME and CCIMP have issued a practical guide dedicated to enhancing the services offered by Mediterranean business supporting organisations (CCI, Business federations, etc.) in terms of enterprise servicing. The guide presents in a user-friendly way the different steps and useful tools required to maximise the success of business missions, BtoB meetings and trade fairs. A dedicated training is planned for autumn 2010. Click here to download the guide.

During the AQUIBAT construction fair in Bordeaux, France (March 10, 2010), Interco Aquitaine and its partners from Belgium, Spain, Tunisia, Lebanon and Syria launched the So’Eco initiative, dedicated to eco-construction in social housing. European experts from Catalonia, Aquitaine and Wallonia’s eco-construction clusters will provide technical assistance to South Mediterranean actors in June 2010. A training of trainers will be organised in October 2010. Then B2B meetings will take place during Marseille’s BATIMED construction fair in March 2011. [Read+]

The companies Pragma-com and Edu 4, which respectively specialise in software development and multimedia teaching equipment, have decided to join forces, following their meeting during the E-3M BtoB in Casablanca. A strong synergy between both companies (production of equipment by Edu 4 and development of content by Pragma-com) should rapidly emerge. They especially target Moroccan, Algerian and Tunisian markets for software equipment designed for education. [Read+]

On March 27, 2010, ANIMA presented the MedDiaspora project during an entrepreneurship workshop organised in Paris by the Association of Moroccan software developers in France (AIMAF). MedDiaspora aims to identify Mediterranean economic diasporas living abroad - entrepreneurs, researchers, high level executives - and elaborate operational recommendations to boost diasporas’ investments in their country of origin. AIMAF, which gathers 700 members, supports MedDiaspora and the MedVentures project. Click here to get more information about the MedDiaspora project.

The ENER-TECH initiative 'Technologies towards sustainable production in the Mediterranean' has started its first in Med operation. A coordination meeting was held in Madrid on March 22-23, 2010, between the four partners of the initiative (the Spanish organisation AMEC, the Jordan Chamber of Industry, the Egyptian federation CEEBA, and the Chamber of Commerce of Beirut). The partners identified users' needs and expectations as well as strategic priorities to be addressed. They also built up an action plan and a project team. [Read+]

Published by ADECI, the study 'Industrial Accompaniement, a new way forward for enterprise partnerships in the Mediterranean' describes the founding principles and the challenges of industrial accompaniment. The results obtained after 10 years of experiencing is positioning the described approach as useful and human to develop sustainable partnerships between people practicing the same job. Click here to download the study.

In the framework of the European call for tenders Tempus IV, Med-Tracking submitted a project proposal at sharing expertise and skills on RFID technology (Radio Frequency IDentification) on the Euro-Mediterranean level. Scheduled on a 3-year period, this project is linked to the tracking of containers in the Mediterranean and includes Tunisia, Palestine, Egypt, Ukraine, Italy, Spain and France. [Read+]

The Young Leaders Centre Forum held in Marseille on March 19, 2010, put a focus on the launch of an international organisation covering the Mediterranean. ANIMA took this opportunity to convince the 200 participating entrepreneurs to invest in MED countries (download here). The Young Leaders Centre, already leader of the project 'Let's Invest in Med' via its Tunisian branch, has expressed its interest to be involved in future Invest in Med projects. 

On March 15, 2010 in Tunis, ANIMA participated in the 7th FEMIP Conference 'R&D and innovation, the keys to sustainable development in the Mediterranean'. The importance of networking in the Mediterranean innovation has been presented on this occasion, as well as the priorities and actions being implemented by Invest in Med (download here) . Several In Med initiatives deal specifically with innovation in the Mediterranean, both on a sectoral approach (Med-Tracking , TexTechMed ) and a transversal level (Young Entrepreneur , Plato Egypt ).

ANIMA General Assembly was held on March 4, 2010, in Marseille in presence of 40 out of the 78 members of the Association, under the presidency of Mrs Wafaa Sobhy, Vice-Chair of GAFI (Egypt). The 2010 programme of ANIMA was approved, including the diversification of its activities: MedGeneration on diasporas, SME support and financing, MedValley on local economic development, East-Invest application on Black Sea investment and trade, etc. Click here to get more information on ANIMA Investment Network.

On February 20-21, ANIMA participated in the Euro-Arab Conference to Support Small and Medium Enterprises in Damascus. A presentation the main SME needs and opportunities in the region has been realised on this occasion (download here). The launch of a US$2 bn Arab fund dedicated to SME development (financing, coaching, innovation transfers etc.) and managed in Damascus by AIDMO (Arab League agency) and SEBC (member of ANIMA) has been announced. ANIMA/Invest in Med should provide a technical assistance (MoU signed on February 22, 2010).

The  Interprofessional National Office of Cereal (OAIC) has been allowed by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to export a part of their 2009 record barley production.  [Lire+]  

A group of businessmen originating from France, Israel and Palestine are to set up a working group with a view to identify economic niches and sectors of development in the Palestinian economy.  [Read+]

According to the World Bank's Vice President for the MENA region, 'micro and small businesses are a primary driver for job creation and economic growth in emerging economies.'  [Read+]

The Finance Ministry just allowed the put up of sales parts of Haïfa and Ahsdod ports, some of these being State property.  [Lire +]

"The agreement, which will cover the next three years, is part of the [Jordanian] government's commitment to protect intellectual property rights", Minister of Information and Communications Technology Marwan Juma declared.  [Read+]

According to "Lebanon This Week", Lebanese exportations are increasing. They have reached 242 millions USD in January 2010. A rise of 16.9% in one year.  [Lire+]

Because of its 2000 kilometres of coast, Seaside tourism is booming. According to a recent report, 74 pleasure boats with around 7 000 tourists shored in Libyan ports in 2009, only 28 in 2008.  [Lire+]

Since March 1st 2010, The Kingdom has adopted a drop of importation customs concerning to europeans cars, from an average 11.8% to 7.7%.  [Lire+]  

Gulf Finance House (GFH) has inked a US$333m deal with the Syrian Investment Authority in order to develop an economic zone and to implement several power projects.  [Read+]

Over 500 young entrepreneurs are on accompaniment services offer by Tunisian Business incubators.   [Lire+]  

The Washington-based institution has approved a €931M loan with a view to supporting medium-term equitable growth in Turkey.  [Read+]

The Invest in Med programme aims at developing sustainable trade relationships, investments and enterprise partnerships between the two rims of the Mediterranean. Funded at 75% by the European Union over the 2008-2011 period, it is implemented by the MedAlliance consortium, which associates economic development organisations (ANIMA, leader of the programme), CCIs (ASCAME, EUROCHAMBRES), and business federations (BUSINESSMED). The members of these networks, as well as their special partners (UNIDO, GTZ, EPA Euroméditerranée, World Bank, etc.), gather a thousand of economic actors - mobilised through pilot initiatives centered on key Mediterranean promising niches. Each year, a hundred operations associate the 27 countries of the European Union and 9 Mediterranean partner countries: Algeria, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Palestinian Authority, Syria and Tunisia. www.invest-in-med.eu