Diar planning 2 tourism projects in Tunisia

Qatari Diar, the property arm of Qatar's sovereign wealth fund, is planning two tourism projects in Tunisia, the North African country’s tourism minister said in an interview published on Tuesday. In an interview in Tunis with the Qatar News Agency (QNA), Tunisian Minister of Investment and International Cooperation Riadh Bettaieb said an agreement had been signed with Qatari Diar for two touristic projects. The first projects is a desert tourism resort in Tawzar, which is known for its palm oases, and the second is a luxury project planned for Ben Ghayada in Al-Mahdiya, a coastal city about 135 miles south of Tunis. The projects are pending the completion of studies and are considered to be promising, Bettaieb told QNA. The minister said the projects were part of moves to increase relations between the two countries ahead of plans for a Qatari business delegation due to visit Tunis in the coming months. "We participated in the Arab Business Council in Doha in March, and we are awaiting a visit for a group of Qatari businessmen. There are arrangements for a series of meetings with a group of business leaders," Bettaieb said. He noted that a number of Qatari businessmen showed interest in investing in Islamic banking and investment funds, in addition to foods and petrochemicals, while others wanted to establish Qatar as a base for marketing Tunisian agricultural products. Among the other projects Qatar is involved with in Tunisia include the Skhira Refinery project in southern Tunisia, which Qatar Petroleum is involved in. The partnership involves locating some oil wells in the Tunisian south and extending a pipeline to Gabes, 400 kilometers south of the capital. The minister said the projects were part of moves to increase relations between the two countries ahead of plans for a Qatari business delegation due to visit Tunis in the coming months. "We participated in the Arab Business Council in Doha in March, and we are awaiting a visit for a group of Qatari businessmen. There are arrangements for a series of meetings with a group of business leaders," Bettaieb said. He noted that a number of Qatari businessmen showed interest in investing in Islamic banking and investment funds, in addition to foods and petrochemicals, while others wanted to establish Qatar as a base for marketing Tunisian agricultural products. Among the other projects Qatar is involved with in Tunisia include the Skhira Refinery project in southern Tunisia, which Qatar Petroleum is involved in. The partnership involves locating some oil wells in the Tunisian south and extending a pipeline to Gabes, 400 kilometers south of the capital.