The forum opened with welcome speeches from Mr. Qaisar HIJAZIN, Secretary General of ABLCC; His Excellency Mr. Sahbi KHALFALLAH, Ambassador of Tunisia in Belgium; His Excellency Mr. François DUMONT Ambassador of Belgium in Tunisia, who honored us with his presence virtually via Zoom; Mr. Jean-Philippe MERGEN Director Internationalisation of BECI; Mr. Mounir MOUAKHAR, President of CCIT, and Mr. Abderrazek SANHAJI, Secretary General of CCIT.

The participants then had the opportunity to listen to insightful presentations on the investment environment and the business climate in both countries.

Afterwards, Mr. SANHAJI and Mr. MERGEN reminded the long-time cooperation between Tunisia and Belgium and sealed this partnership by signing a cooperation agreement.

Mr. Mokhtar CHOUARI, Director Digital Marketing of FIPA (Agence de promotion de l'investissement extérieur), and Mr. Ikbel KHALDI, CEPEX (Centre de Promotions des Exportations) both delivered riveting presentations about what Tunisia has to offer in terms of exchanges, talent, and business opportunities.

Some key figures about Tunisia:

1^st industrial exporter from the south Mediterranean to the EU

1^st In Africa for the quality of ICT infrastructure

1^st best in Visa Program to attract Start-ups in North Africa and Middle East and 23^rd worldwide.

1^st destination for health services in Africa

2^nd African producer of car components

2^nd worldwide exporter of organic products in Africa

3^rd innovative economy in Africa

5^th worldwide exporter of olive oil and dates

6^th economic partner of Belgium, and Belgium 4^th foreign investor in Tunisia

9^th largest supplier of Europe in apparel

Bilateral exchanges amounted roughly to 800 million Euros in 2022

And to finish the morning full of presentations, Mr. Mohamed HAJJAM from Hub.Brussels exposed the advantages to invest or to implement in Brussels.

Then, they took part in a networking lunch and a B2B meetings session which lasted the whole afternoon.