Physical Address
Indirizzo: Via Mario Greco 60, Buttigliera Alta, 10090, Torino, Italy
Given their essential role in economic diplomacy, business councils are called upon to review their role and their functioning, working according to a new approach capable of allowing them to fully fulfill their mission. This is the recommendation made during the meeting on the role of business councils in boosting economic diplomacy, organized this Sunday in Algiers.
Light was shed on the role and importance of these councils in boosting economic diplomacy. Tayeb Zitouni, Minister of Trade and Export Promotion, accompanied by his counterpart from Foreign Affairs and the National Community Abroad, stressed the need to review the activity of business councils, in particular by redefining the expected objectives, with the aim of helping to lay the foundations of intelligent diplomacy in the service of national development, institutions and investors, everywhere in the world, in application of commitment 49 of the President of the Republic. “The objective evaluation of the activity of the 42 business councils showed us the need to review their work,” he indicated during his speech opening the work, in which several officials and economical actors. “The review of the activity of businessmen’s councils is a necessity to promote Algeria’s economic diplomacy,” assured Mr. Zitouni, adding that “the strength of a country is measured by its economic strength “.
According to the minister, the role of businessmen’s councils should not be limited to the promotion of trade but should be a mechanism that will be able to weave promising strategic partnerships, affirming that the experiences of other countries have demonstrated the pioneering role of this advice in the development of bilateral relations. “It is a mechanism on which the authorities rely a lot to adapt to economic changes,” he noted.
A new vision is therefore necessary for these business councils to play their role. The first official of the trade sector, in this sense, indicated the organization of workshops with the aim of outlining new visions and strategic objectives, with the determination of the necessary mechanisms to overcome the obstacles that hamper the diplomatic role of these economic actors.
Zitouni, who indicated that this meeting is part of a series of meetings organized with other ministerial departments concerned with supporting economic operators in their deployment on foreign markets, assured that “foreign trade cannot achieve the objectives set out without the involvement of diplomacy.
He did not fail to highlight the economic dynamics recorded by the country, the result of “the profound reforms carried out by the President of the Republic”. These have enabled the country to achieve unprecedented results because, “in four and a half years, the national economy has achieved positive results, which have transformed Algeria from an importing country to a producing and exporting country of several products”.
For his part, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ahmed Attaf, highlighted the progress recorded by the national economy, citing the main indicators which demonstrate the good economic and financial health of the country. “We can only be proud of the positive results achieved thanks to the policies, reforms and choices made by the President of the Republic,” he noted, stressing the importance of organizing this meeting on the economic diplomacy but above all the timing of its holding.
He also underlined the importance of these business councils which bring together economic actors, stressing that Algeria has created these cooperation mechanisms since the 1990s and now has more than 40 councils with African, European, Asian and Americans. The time has therefore come to evaluate the work of these councils, determine the reasons why some did not work and also identify the obstacles which prevented the activation of others, without forgetting to draw inspiration from successful examples. .
The commitment of the Department of Foreign Affairs was reiterated by Mr. Attaf, who said that his department is strongly involved in promoting economic diplomacy. Taking part in this meeting, the president of CREA, Kamal Moula, pointed out the need for members of business councils to form working groups in order to play a more active role throughout the year.
Launch of a digital platform
The Minister of Commerce also announced the launch by the CACI of an interactive digital platform, dedicated to the supervision and management of businessmen’s advice, operational since yesterday. “With coordination between the sectors and institutions concerned, this platform will allow the different operators to have all the necessary data and new features,” said the minister. It will therefore serve as a gateway, which will connect Algerian and foreign businessmen and where all activities on both sides will be communicated.
In addition to the advantages offered to local economic operators, it will also make it easier for foreign businessmen by offering them better visibility on the Algerian market, in addition to making it easier for them to apply for and obtain a visa. The president of the Algerian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CACI), Kamal Hamenni, underlined the importance of this platform, which will allow better coordination of actions and above all a considerable saving of time. “In just one click, we can have all the necessary information relating to an export operation and also the vision of the given country,” he said, pointing out the accessibility of this platform for men. Algerian and foreign businessmen.