The Tunisian government's national policy prioritizes the digitization of services. In 2022, the administration had already digitized the birth certificate process.

Tunisia is seeking a company to build an electronic visa platform. Last week, the Ministry of Communication Technologies launched an international tender for the project, with submissions open until October 15.

The e-visa platform is expected to be developed within 12 months. To fund the project, the Tunisian government will use part of a loan from the African Development Bank (AfDB), granted under the "Tunisia Digital 2020" national strategic support project (PNS TD2020).

This initiative aligns with the goals of the "Tunisia Digital 2025" strategic plan, which emphasizes the digitization of public services. Other planned projects include the establishment of a national address directory, the implementation of e-justice, the creation of a private cloud for the Ministry of the Interior, infrastructure for e-government, the development of an internal HR management system for public administration, and a platform for monitoring cyber threats.

With the e-visa platform, the Tunisian government hopes to streamline the visa application process and reduce processing times. It also expects this initiative will boost economic cooperation and open new tourism markets.

According to official statistics, Tunisia welcomed 9.37 million tourists in 2023, a 45.5% increase from 2022. In its Spring 2024 "Economic Outlook Bulletin," the World Bank reported that tourism revenues rose by 28.1% in 2023, reaching 6.9 billion Tunisian dinars ($2.27 billion). This accounted for 4.4% of GDP, up from 3.8% in 2022.

Isaac K. Kassouwi