Mediterraneo News

A PARLIAMENT COMMITTEE TO BOOST RELATIONS BETWEEN ITALY AND MEDITERRANEAN COUNTRIES ?

EUROMED- THE ROLE OF REGIONS IN THE EURO-MEDITERRANEAN PLAN

INTERPARLIAMENT RELATIONS BETWEEN ITALY AND ALGERIA

MEDA EURO MEDITERRANEAN BILATERAL PROJECTS

SEMIS- INTERVENTIONS IN THE MEDITERRANEAN AREA

IPI CONTRIBUTION TO THE ISRAELI PALESTINIAN PEACE

TUNIS - THE UTICA /CONFINDUSTRIA CONVENTION

THE CONFINDUSTRIA DESKS AT THE ITALIAN CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE ABROAD

IG IN TUNISIA FOR THE INTERNATIONALIZATION OF THE ENTERPRISES

LEBANON - A DELEGATION OF INDUSTRIALISTS TO MILAN AND ROME

MALTA DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION FOR INVESTMENTS IN MALTA

AN AGREEMENT BETWEEN CALABRIA AND LEBANON: SOLIDARITY AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

MOROCCO- AN AGREEMENT FOR ECONOMIC EXCHANGES BETWEEN THE CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE OF ROME AND RABAT

ALGERIA-100 PRIVATIZATION PROJECTS AND PARTNERSHIP OFFERS TO SMALL AND MEDIUM ENTERPRISES

MILAN- THE FESTIVAL OF THE NEW AFRICAN CINEMA

TUNISIA- A BOOK ON THE CITY THEATER IN TUNIS

TUNISIA - A CULTURAL DIALOGUE AND MIXED MARRIAGES

A PARLIAMENT COMMITTEE TO BOOST RELATIONS BETWEEN ITALY AND MEDITERRANEAN COUNTRIES ?

In the near future, a Parliament Committee to boost Euro Mediterranean initiatives as concerns bilateral relations between Italy and Mediterranean countries might be set up.
Special attention will be reserved by the Committee to the initiatives part of the MEDA Program. The project which would fill an institutional gap in this field on the part of Italy, has been proposed by the member of Parliament, Mr. Marco Pezzoni .
The Committee would be formed by 20 deputies and twenty senators who should coordinate and examine initiatives in this sector. In addition the Committee should promote relations among Parliament institutions of this area within the framework of a permanent Forum for the formulation of a yearly program on activities to be carried out.(Italian Network)

EUROMED- THE ROLE OF REGIONS IN THE EURO-MEDITERRANEAN PLAN

Euro-Mediterranean regions must be fully involved in the process of economic integration of the Mediterranean so that they can be ready when, in 2010, the area will be free trade zone.
And during the Conferenza delle Regioni Periferiche e Marittime (CRPM) held in Siracusa, participants have decided to organize a yearly meeting ( in 2000 in Andalusia, in 2001 in Palestine) of the Euro-Mediterranean regions in order to check the implementation of the Community programs referring to the Mediterranean.

The meeting in Siracusa, organized by the Sicily and the Tuscany regions, has also offered the possibility to examine the role of regions in migration and to prepare the summit of the 27 political representatives of the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership which will be held in Stuttgart next April.(Italian Network)

INTERPARLIAMENT RELATIONS BETWEEN ITALY AND ALGERIA

The visit of an Algerian delegation headed by the Chairman of the Algerian National Assembly to the Chairman of the Italian Chamber of Deputies, Mr. Violante, has offered the opportunity to further enhance relations between these two countries.
And within this framework, a protocol on Parliament relations has been signed with the scope of promoting opinion and experience exchanges between Parliament Committees, and Parliament Days, which will be held every second year.

The Algerian situation has also been reviewed during the meeting of the two Chairmen, Mr.Violante and Mr. Bansalah.
Despite some terrorist attacks, the Algerian situation has considerably improved; thanks to the economic and political reforms, in fact, in the last four years, the inflation rate dropped from 30% to 6%.
And Algeria wants to further develop its economy and to start to privatize the most significant economic sectors. The next meeting will be held in Algiers on occasion of the visit of Mr.Violante.(Italian Network)

MEDA EURO MEDITERRANEAN BILATERAL PROJECTS

61 projects have been financed by the MEDA Program from 1996 to 1998, after having been approved by the MED Committee. Another 13 projects have been financed within the framework of the regional cooperation.

The global financing amounts to 2,166.9 MECU: 250 have been allocated to Algeria, 350 to Egypt, 140 to Jordan, 105 to Lebanon, 535 to Morocco, 55 to Syria, 250 to Tunisia, 375 to Turkey, 109.9 to Occupied Lands, 190.94 to the Regional Program.

Funds have been used to finance 3 projects in Algeria, 5 projects in Egypt, 1 in Jordan, 3 in Lebanon, 11 in Morocco, 8 in Syria, 17 in the Occupied Lands, 5 in Tunisia and 9 in Turkey. (Italian Network)

SEMIS- INTERVENTIONS IN THE MEDITERRANEAN AREA

In the near future, Slimmest wants to support many Italian small and medium enterprises on the markets of the Mediterranean countries.
And in order to do that, Semis is both examining the possibility to sign agreements with local banks and studying new financial instruments.

And within this framework, Tunisia, said Mr. Luigi Dante, the Simest General Manager, is a perfect market for the Italian investments. 1,300 joint ventures have been implemented up to now and new financial interventions which will offer enterprises financing up to 4 billion lire ( at the interest rate of 1.85%) are under exam.

Other countries which offer interesting prospects are Algeria, Syria and Libya. Italian -Libyan relations have recovered after the bilateral agreements signed in 1998 and, in the near future, they should become closer and closer. Egypt, as well, is a good partner and the number of Italian investments in this country is considerably increasing. (Italian Network)

IPI CONTRIBUTION TO THE ISRAELI PALESTINIAN PEACE

Thanks to IPI (Istituto per la Promozione dell'Industria) Israelis and Palestinians will create, for the first time, a service center for the textile enterprises in Gaza. The agreement whose preliminary details have recently been ironed out, is extremely significant from a political and economic point of view.
Ipi will be offering market analysis services, training, assistance in product innovation, technological know how and financing research.

In Italy 12 service centers will be soon operating in the most important industrial areas. They will be mainly involved with the textile, furniture, mechanical, food and agricultural sectors and they will start "twinning" initiatives with the other centers in Southern Mediterranean areas.
In 1999, 5 Mecu have been allocated by the Regional Program of Industrial Cooperation 1994-1999 with the scope of promoting these centers and of creating a network among them.
Other projects between Italy and Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Egypt are under way.
As concerns Morocco, an initiative for the clothing textile sector is under way to transfer know how and promote local development.

In Algeria, the project concerns the updating of the Textile and Leather Center.
And a Social Development Memo has been signed with Egypt to transfer the Italian industrial know how and experiences to local enterprises. (Italian Network)

TUNIS - THE UTICA /CONFINDUSTRIA CONVENTION

Greater cooperation among the entrepreneurial associations in the Mediterranean area. The initiative worked out by the Confindustria Italiana, has the scope to promote cooperation in view of the implementation of the free trade area in 2010.
And in order to strengthen economic relations between Italy and Tunisia, the Confindustria President, Mr. Giorgio Fossa, went to Tunisia where he signed , together with the UTICA President, Mr. Hedi Djilani, a cooperation agreement to promote information exchanges and missions of Italian economic operators to Tunisia and visits of Tunisian operators to Italy.
The agreement mainly concerns the food agricultural, mechanical, electronic and electric, clothing, packing and leather sectors. (Italian Network)

THE CONFINDUSTRIA DESKS AT THE ITALIAN CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE ABROAD

At the end of March, the Confindustria desks at the Italian Chambers of Commerce in the Mediterranean area will be operating.
The initiative which concerns mainly the bilateral chambers of Commerce, offers a number of services to Italian and local entrepreneurs who turn to the Chambers of Commerce seeking assistance.

Thanks to this initiative, said Mr. D'Agata, the responsible for Assafrica (a Confindustria body for Africa and Mediterranean countries), more services will be offered including assistance for bilateral and Community financing access.
Third countries in the Mediterranean areas will thus have the possibility to benefit of the MEDA funds for the technological transfer. (Italian Network)

IG IN TUNISIA FOR THE INTERNATIONALIZATION OF THE ENTERPRISES

The workshop recently organized for the 17 IG enterprises participating in the FESR Project Partenariat Tunisie 1998-1999 has been extremely successful.
The initiative also offered the possibility to check the investment prospects that the enterprises monitored by the Società per l'Imprenditorialità Giovanile could take advantage of within the framework of the project co-financed by the European Social Fund for the Regional Development.
The project is the first internationalization-guided experiment for enterprises. Many banks and bodies have participated in this project such as FIFA, the ICE branch in Tunis, API, and the Italian Embassy in Tunis. Partenariat Tunisie supported new enterprises from all points of view, in the same way IG helps enterprises in Italy. (Italian Network)

LEBANON - A DELEGATION OF INDUSTRIALISTS TO MILAN AND ROME

Confindustria has recently received a delegation of Lebanese industrialists who stopped in Rome and Milan where they met representatives of the Ministry of Industry, of ICE and other entrepreneurs.

In Milan, ICE has organized a seminar to show Italian entrepreneurs prospects in Lebanon, a country which is strongly recovering from an economic and production point of view.

In Rome, the delegation, headed by the President of the Lebanese industrialists, met Mr.Giorgio Fossa, the Confindustria President, and they also visited the Centro Ricerche sui materiali di Castelromano. An advanced research center operating in the product sector. Lebanese industrialists were particularly interested in graphics, ceramics, wood, pharmaceutical products and cosmetics. (Italian Network)

MALTA DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION FOR INVESTMENTS IN MALTA

SDA Bocconi has organized a meeting on The role of the promotion agencies and management of the economic development during which the activity of the Malta Development Corporation has been examined together with the experiences of those entrepreneurs who have invested in Malta.
Attention has also been paid to the main features of the economic development of Malta and to the institutional situation.
Malta Development Corporation is an agency which had a key role in promoting investments in Malta. Set up in 1967, Malta Development Corporation has approved over 1,300 investment projects mostly referring to the start of new enterprises in the electronic, tourist, clothing and textile sectors thanks to the tax exemption for those enterprises which export 95% of their production.

The agency is divided into three sections (Planning and research, Investment promotion, Resource Management) and it carries on a number of activities to help investors ( location research, bureaucratic and legal assistance...). (Italian Network)

AN AGREEMENT BETWEEN CALABRIA AND LEBANON: SOLIDARITY AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

Solidarity and the promotion of an economic cooperation between these two Mediterranean areas: these are the goals of the agreement signed by the Catanzaro Chamber of Commerce and a Lebanese delegation, headed by the Sheik Naim Nakad.

The initiative supported by the twinning between the municipality of Cropani ( Calabria) and the town of Abey ( half way between Beirut and Sidone) is due to some associations which want to help the Lebanese youths, victims of the war.
Abey hosts, in fact, a center for youths: 900 children (aged 3-8), who lost their parents and need treatment, live there. <

dd>The two communities want also to promote the economy in both towns and within this framework the Sheik offered special facilities to the Italian enterprises which are interested in investing in Lebanon.

The Catanzaro Chamber of Commerce will be promoting workshops to allow entrepreneurs from Calabria and Lebanon to meet. (Italian Network)

MOROCCO- AN AGREEMENT FOR ECONOMIC EXCHANGES BETWEEN THE CHAMBERS OF COMMERCE OF ROME AND RABAT

Industry, trade, craftsmanship, agriculture and service: these are the sectors taken in consideration by the agreement signed by the Chamber of Commerce in Rome and Rabat whose scope is to promote trade cooperation programs and information exchanges on business prospects in these two countries.
The three-year agreement signed by the Moroccan Minister of Industry and the head of the ICE branch in Casablanca envisages a cooperation also in the cultural, tourist and administrative sectors, the participation of Italian and Moroccan enterprises in fairs organized in both countries and training courses for youths.

Further information: Camera di Commercio di Roma, ph. ++ 39 06 520821. (Italian Network)

ALGERIA-100 PRIVATIZATION PROJECTS AND PARTNERSHIP OFFERS TO SMALL AND MEDIUM ENTERPRISES

A country which wants to introduce itself in an international framework: we are talking of Algeria and of the economic and financial prospects which this country offers to small and medium enterprises.
And over the last few months, over 100 privatization projects and 36 partnership requests with Italian enterprises have been put forward by Algeria after the visit of Mr. Dini, the Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs, to this country. Algeria wants, in fact, to relaunch production and economy by involving more and more private enterprises. Rich in raw materials, Algeria has 30 million inhabitants who are expected to double in 7/8 years and a good geographical position next to new interesting markets. (Italian Network)

MILAN- THE FESTIVAL OF THE NEW AFRICAN CINEMA

The Centro di Orientamento Educativo is presenting again this year The African Film Festival : 90 films by 50 African producers. The films will be shown in four cinemas in Milan from March 19 through 25.
The films will be also shown in Rome, Genoa, Rimini and Cesena.
Special attention is paid to the films produced by young African directors and to films centered on the African history and the diaspora of African communities in the world.

The program includes Demain, je brule by Mohamed Ben Smail, a story on a Tunisian emigrant; Les Casablancais stories set in Casablanca; Silmandé on corruption in Burkina Faso; La petite vendeuese de soleil by Djibril Diop Mambéty from Senegal: a remarkable film on a girl in Dakar. Worth mentioning the short Lettre à Senghor an imaginary letter to the first poet-president of Senegal.

Two conferences ( March 22 and 24) will also be held on Cinema dei due Congo, il grande assente del cinema africano, and Le radici africane nel cinema brasiliano. Many producers will be attending.
A seminar ( March 22 and 23) on Communication and international solidarity will analyze multicultural society and solidarity initiatives with special references to initiatives in the schools.

Further information: Elisa Malnis & Margherita Sabia, ph.++ 02 6696258; 02 66712077; fax 02 66714338; e-mail; coe@iol.it.
Initiatives in the schools: Manuela Pursumal/Clara Carluzzo (COE), ph.++ 02 6696258- 02 67073084; fax 02 66714338; e-mail coe@ol.it. (Italian Network)

TUNISIA- A BOOK ON THE CITY THEATER IN TUNIS

It is a masterpiece of the colonial architecture decorated with white stucco and rounded shapes: we are referring to the city Theater of Tunis built in 1902 where the most important shows of this century have been held.
Now Fatma Ben Becher-Djellouli, a woman sociologist, has dedicated a book to this theater which is a significant reference point for Tunis. Published by Edizioni Finzi Création, the book has been presented on March 4 at the Dante Alighieri Cultural Center in Tunis. It is an extremely refined work which wants to underline the value of this baroque theater which ran the risk of being demolished. A supermarket was supposed to be built there.

The theater built by the French and Italian communities hosts international shows and it is a "meeting point" for different cultures and people, said the author of the book.

Further information on the book: Edition Finzi Création, 4 Rue de Russie, 1000 Tunis, Tunisia. (Italian Network)

TUNISIA - A CULTURAL DIALOGUE AND MIXED MARRIAGES

A cultural dialogue and mixed marriages these were the topics of the meeting held last February in Tunis. Organized by the Cultural Department of the Italian Embassy and by Codist, the Association of Italian Women in Tunisia, the meeting boasted the participation of Professor Ridha Boukraa of the Tunis University. (Italian Network)