At an official ceremony to be held on October 7, 2021 on the sidelines of the MEDIBAT trade fair, the Africalink Business Network will launch the Africalink Tunisia Committee. This community already has 165 members and is working to develop exchanges between African and European entrepreneurs. By deploying its network in Tunisia, Africalink offers Tunisian businessmen the opportunity to share the opportunities available in the Afro-European space.

Anxious to make the new MEDIBAT session a success at all levels, including that relating to hygiene and sanitary conditions, the CCIS has hired a specialized structure which will be responsible for the application of the sanitary protocol aimed at respecting the rules of prevention against the Coronavirus and keep everyone safe.

The hired service provider will ensure, under the supervision of the CCIS COVID referent, to train all stakeholders, to organize the flow of visitors and exhibitors and to make them aware of common prevention practices (wearing a mask, physical distancing, disinfection. ..).

The 16th edition of MEDIBAT will have a remarkable presence from Venezuela. Indeed, in addition to the participation in the exhibition, this Latin American country will be represented in this biennial meeting of the building by the presence of its Minister of People’s Power of Housing Mr. Ildemaro Villarroel who will participate in the economic forum (the October 8) and will present an intervention on “The Great Mission Housing Venezuela to guarantee the social right of housing and the technique of“ petrocasas ”(petromaisons)”.
Mr. Villarroel, will present the conceptual aspects of the creation and development of the Great Mission Housing Venezuela which has built more than 3,700,000 houses in the country, to guarantee the right to housing of the population. It will also present the challenges posed by the land issue and financing, while highlighting the development of the national construction industry and the increase in the production capacities of construction materials, in particular the technique of “petrocasas” (petro- houses, houses made with materials derived from petroleum).

La Zone de Libre Echange Continentale Africaine ZLECAF, dont la Convention a été ratifiée par la Tunisie il y a une année, fera l’objet d’un Workshop qui se tiendra en marge de MEDIBAT et ce le 8 octobre  à partir de 15h00 à la salle de l UTICA. Portant essentiellement sur les derniers développements de cet important espace de coopération économique, le Workshop sera animé par  le représentant du Secrétariat Général de la ZLECAF et Monsieur Chaouki Jaballi Conseiller des Services Publics et Directeur de la Coopération avec les pays africains et l’Union Africaine.

A round table on the theme “Post-Covid 19 architecture” will be organized on October 8, on the sidelines of the 16th edition of MEDIBAT. About 150 architects working under the leadership of the Tunisian Order of Architects will take part in this event with the objective of “raising the expectations and issues that concern the profession from a professional point of view” declared to the press office of MEDIBAT the member of the Council of the Order of Architects of Tunisia responsible for events Mr. Mohamed Adel Saidi.

The 16th MEDIBAT edition will be marked by the presence of a plethora of ministers and high personalities from several countries who have confirmed their attendance at the thirtieth anniversary session.

Indeed, the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Sfax (CCIS) has received, so far, the confirmation of six ministers representing Cameroon, Mali, Burkina-Faso, Congo Brazzaville, Senegal and Venezuela. .

The 16th edition of MEDIBAT coincides with the launch by the CCIS of a new instant communication tool: the “CCIS MOBILE” application.
This application, which is available on Google Play and App Store, allows economic operators not only to follow CCIS news, but also to benefit from other services such as obtaining access badges to the MEDIBAT Fair. It is intended as a means allowing members of the Chamber to stay permanently connected with its activities and programs.

Along with the exhibition, the Salon program will include, like previous editions, a series of events parallel to the exhibition, namely the Economic Forum, the Scientific Forum, the Entrepreneurship Forum, the Circles and the Innovation Village and Country Days, in addition to a major event celebrating the 30th anniversary of the Show.

The Economic Forum will revolve around the theme “Strengthening the Public Private Partnership (PPP) in the building and infrastructure sector”, as for the Scientific Forum, it will debate the theme “Construction 4.0 in the post-Covid paradigm. 19 ”.

Guest of honor at the new edition of MEDIBAT, Libya will be at the heart of a day devoted to it, which will revolve around the theme “Tunisian-Libyan partnership projects and the reconstruction of Libya”.

An official delegation made up of ministers, decision-makers, Presidents of Chambers of Commerce, Presidents of municipalities and investment structures is expected in Sfax. Major projects (including 5,000 housing units) to be carried out as part of the country’s reconstruction efforts will be exposed during this Libya Day.

On D-18 of the event, the reservation of stands for the exhibition of the 16th edition of the Mediterranean Building Exhibition MEDIBAT that will be organized by the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Sfax (CCIS) from October 6 to 9, 2021 is almost completed.

More than 20 countries have already confirmed their presence at the edition which coincides with the 30th anniversary celebration of the fair. These are Libya, Cameroon, Algeria, Sudan, Democratic Republic of Congo, Congo Brazzaville, Mali, Gabon, Nigeria, Kenya, Senegal, Burkina-Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Togo, France, Germany, Czech Republic, Russia, Ukraine, Indonesia and Venezuela.

The 16th edition of the Mediterranean Building Fair (MEDIBAT 2021) will be marked by the presence of a plethora of ministers and high personalities from several countries who have confirmed their attendance at the thirtieth anniversary session. Indeed, the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Sfax (CCIS) has so far received confirmation from the following ministers:

• Ms. Célestine Ketcha, Minister of Housing and Urban Development of Cameroon
• Mr. Brehima KAMENA, Minister of Town Planning and Domains, Land Use Planning and Population of Mali
• Mr. Benewendé Stanislas SANKARA, Minister of Town Planning, Housing and the City of Bukina-Faso
• Mr. Josué Rodrigue NGOUONIMBA, Minister of Construction, Urbanism and Housing of Congo Brazzaville
• Ms. Diarra Bousso DIAGNE, Technical Advisor; Ministry of Infrastructure, Land Transport and Opening-up, Senegal;
• Mr. Ildemaro VILLARROEL, Minister of Popular Power of Housing and Housing of Venezuela
  It is also expected that other ministers, state secretaries and senior officials from other countries such as Gabon, DR Congo, Côte d’Ivoire, Togo, Nigeria and Kenya will confirm in the coming days their participation as well as officials from ECOWAS and UEMOA.

13 African countries present at MEDIBAT:

• Guests of honor
• Strong delegation from LIBYA with the presence of Ministers and high personalities;
• Strong delegation from CAMEROON with the participation of 2 Ministers and high personalities.
• Many African delegations from :

• Algeria ;
• DRC ;
• Mali ;
• Gabon ;
• Nigeria ;
• Kenya ;
• Senegal ;
• Burki-Faso ;
• Ivory Coast ;
• Soudan ;
• Togo ;
• Other foreign delegations :
• France ;
• Czech Republic ;
• Venezuela ;
• Japanese official delegation ;
• Russian official delegation ;
• Ukrainian official delegation.
• CPCCAF ;
• Africalink
• Foreign exhibition :
• France Pavilion (Business France has awarded its Label to MEDIBAT);
• Czech Republic pavilion;
• Libya pavilion;
• Cameroonian pavilion;
• Indonesian pavilion;
• German pavilion;
• Venezuelan pavilion.
• Expected foreign exhibition :
• Turkey;
• Russia;

Under the supervision of the Ministry of Equipment, Housing and Infrastructures and the Libyan Ministry of Housing and Reconstruction, the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Sfax, organized the “First Tunisian-Libyan Sector Forum” June 29, 2021, in collaboration with the Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture of Tripoli and several Tunisian professional structures : the Order of Engineers, the Order of Architects and the National Federation of Building Contractors and Public Works (FNEBTP), of the UTICA, under the slogan « The Role of studies and Consulting Offices in the Success of Major Projects »

During the inauguration of this forum, the Tunisian Minister of Equipment, Housing and Infrastructures Kamal Doukh underlined the promotion of bilateral cooperation in the fields of planning, housing, construction and public works, with emphasis on Tunisian skills that are ready to provide their expertise to support the reconstruction projects in Libya. At the same time, the Minister reviewed some statistics relating to the actors of the building and public works sector in Tunisia, (6,500 construction and public works companies, 400 design offices and consulting engineers, 2,800 architects and 160 experts in land measurement and cadastre experts). All these skills are highly qualified, willing to bring their acquired expertise in the projects of reconstruction of Libya.

Experiences of Tunisian institutions specializing in building, construction and urban and environmental planning were presented, such as « the Real Estate Agency for Housing », « Urban Rehabilitation and Renovation Agency », the « Libyan Engineering Professions », and many Municipalities.

It was also suggested by a group of participants in the discussion session, the achievement of a twinning between the Tunisian and Libyan municipalities, which will serve as a starting point for the exchange of experiences, and a framework for the implementation of projects  to coordinate and develop data exchange, between professional engineering structures from the two countries.

The forum’s program included workshops and panel discussions on the theme of urban development, strategic planning, urban rehabilitation, the role of design offices and the implementation of suspended projects.

It also included a dialogue platform, which represented a space for discussion and interactive dialogue and a networking opportunity between the Tunisian and Libyan parties.

This meeting resulted in the conclusion of a memorandum of understanding, on June 30, 2021, between the Tunisian Order of Engineers and the General Union of Engineering Trades in Libya.

As part of the implementation of the program developed by the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Sfax with Libya aimed at reviving and strengthening economic relations between the two countries, the CCIS organized, between June 28 and 1 July 2021 Tunisian participation in the fourth session of “Libya Construction Expo” at the Tripoli International Fair, in collaboration with the International Society of Congresses and Exhibitions and, under the aegis of the Ministry of Economy and Commerce, the Ministry of Housing and Construction of Libya and, the General Federation of Libyan Chambers of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture.

In addition to the Libyan ministers, the inauguration of the Salon was ensured by the Tunisian ministers Mr. Mohamed Bou Said, Minister of Trade and Export Development and Acting Minister of Energy, Mines and Renewable Energies, and by Mr. Kamal Doukh, Minister of Equipment, Housing and Infrastructure. In addition to H.E.M. Asaad Al-Ajili, Ambassador of the Republic of Tunisia in Tripoli and Mr. Ridha Fourati, President of the CCIS.

The program of “Libya Construction Expo 2021” focused particularly on the exhibition, as the number of Tunisian exhibitors exceeded 120 companies operating in various sectors of construction, public works and other related sectors, over an area of approximately 1,500 square meters. The Tunisian participation is distinct from the rest of the countries, considering that the total number of exhibitors has reached 270.

We note also, the significant participation of 100 engineers and architects from the Order of Tunisian Engineers and the Order of Architects, with the aim of establishing a partnership between Tunisia and Libya in the engineering sector in general, architecture, construction and related sectors in particular.

The sectoral Forum was also a fundamental pillar of the event, in addition to the business meetings, held by the exhibitors with professionals and Libyan businessmen and with some Libyan municipalities representing the Western Libya.

The President of Sfax Chamber had, also held several fruitful meetings with high-ranking Libyan officials, in order to prepare the distinguished participation of Libya in the Mediterranean building exhibition, as a guest of honor “MEDIBAT 2021” in its extraordinary session, during which, the thirtieth of this important international event will be celebrated.