A bilateral agreement of cooperation between Tunisia and Libya in the field of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) will be concluded today, July 20. The agreement was announced by Libyan Minister of Communications Anoir Abou Baker Alfitouri after his meeting with Tunisian Prime Minister Hamadi Jebali yesterday.

Libya is facing major challenges in developing the diverse framework required to provide its citizens e-services, such as online banking, payments, and commerce, according to Alfitouri. He explained his country’s interest in establishing a long-term partnership with Tunisia by referring to Tunisia as the number one African expert in the ICT field. Alfitouri also asserted that the new agreement would help Libya develop the necessary know-how and infrastructure required to enable the country to create a prosperous ICT market.

It is expected that, in return for offering their expertise, Tunisian professionals and teachers operating in the emerging ICT field will witness a high demand for ICT specialists – a development which may help reduce the unemployment crisis among young graduates in Tunisia.