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Tuesday, February 17, 2004

OPIC Concludes Bilateral Agreement Between U.S. and Tunisia

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Dr. Peter Watson, president and CEO of the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC), and Mohamed Nouri Jouini, Minister of Development and International Cooperation for Tunisia, today signed a bilateral agreement between the United States and Tunisia intended to promote U.S. private sector investment in the North African nation. The agreement updates a document originally concluded between the two countries in 1959.

The bilateral agreement affirms the two nations’ “common desire to encourage activities in the Republic of Tunisia that promote the economic resources and productive capacities of the Republic of Tunisia; and recognizes that “this objective can be promoted through investment support” by OPIC.

Dr. Watson said the agreement reaffirmed “the strong ties between our two nations.

“For OPIC, the strength of that tie lies in our ability to enable U.S. companies to contribute to the development of Tunisia’s free market economy. The projects OPIC supports devolve many developmental benefits to ordinary Tunisians, among them jobs, procurement of materials, technological expertise, and the growth of Tunisia’s financial infrastructure. I know Tunisia is as eager as OPIC is to see even more evidence of the transformative power of the free market in his country,” Dr. Watson said.

Historically, OPIC has supported 20 projects in Tunisia with nearly $550 million in political risk insurance. Those projects have represented a variety of sectors in Tunisia’s economy, from manufacturing to financial services, tourism to oil and gas exploration.

OPIC is the U.S. Government’s development finance institution. It mobilizes private capital to help solve critical development challenges and in doing so, advances U.S. foreign policy. Because OPIC works with the U.S. private sector, it helps U.S. businesses gain footholds in emerging markets catalyzing revenues, jobs and growth opportunities both at home and abroad. OPIC achieves its mission by providing investors with financing, guarantees, political risk insurance, and support for private equity investment funds.

Established as an agency of the U.S. Government in 1971, OPIC operates on a self-sustaining basis at no net cost to American taxpayers. OPIC services are available for new and expanding business enterprises in more than 150 countries worldwide. To date, OPIC has supported nearly $200 billion of investment in over 4,000 projects, generated $74 billion in U.S. exports and supported more than 275,000 American jobs.