On April 9 I helped open the new Cisco Systems office in Berges du Lac, a suburb of Tunis.  Also at the opening were Minister of Telecommunications Hadj Gley, Cisco Vice President Emerging Markets Africa Levant Yvon le Roux, and local Cisco Director General Adel Dahmani, along with many members of the Tunisian media.

Cisco plans to make Tunis a regional hub for its operations.  It will provide assistance and support to companies, large and small.  In his remarks to the media, Minister Gley warmly welcomed Cisco’s expansion of its operations and its commitment to Tunisia’s future.  Wisely, the Government of Tunisia seeks to increase the presence and engagement of companies such as Cisco.  Particularly important is the training programs they provide for young Tunisians and for small and medium sized enterprises.  The government’s policies in support of business and the private sector have been key in helping Tunisia grow impressively in recent years.

In today’s highly competitive world, US Embassies (including ours in Tunis) must provide strong support to US companies doing business abroad.  In Tunis, we do all we can to assist American firms.  We provide support directly to American business, and also to the excellent and active Tunisian American Chamber of Commerce.  Not only does the Embassy’s work encourage economic growth in both countries, it helps build contacts between our two societies.  And that, as you have probably gathered from my other Blog entries, is a key goal for this Embassy.  I was pleased to have been invited to the Cisco opening.