Italian development aid in brief

1. Overview and reasons of the Italian cooperation presence

The reasons that make Tunisia a priority country for Italy are easily traceable in the geographical and cultural proximity, in the history of human and economic exchanges as well as within the context of Euro-Mediterranean relationships. The Italian Cooperation was present in Tunisia in a continuous way since its institution at the end of the eighties. From 1988 indeed, the Program of the Italian Cooperation is defined within the sessions of the Italian - Tunisian Great Joint Committee (GJM). On the occasion of VI Italian - Tunisian GJM (in October 2007), Italy confirmed its availability to support Tunisia in the realization of XI Economic and Social Development Plan (2007-2011) through, among others, the instrument of the development cooperation. The VII committee, finalized to sanction the guidelines for the following three-year term, was to take place during 2010 but its course had been postponed to 2011, year during which it could not take place because of the particular political moment crossed by the country. Both parties therefore took cognizance of the need to develop the Italian Public Development Aid through those forms that privilege mutually beneficial objectives for both countries, and that aim in particular at supporting the democratic transition of Tunisia. The activities of the Italian Cooperation in Tunisia today are in line with the context set by the guidelines drawn by the Euro-Mediterranean partnership (Process of Barcelona of 1995 and Union for the Mediterranean of Paris 2008) to promote the creation of an area of peace, stability and economic prosperity. Negotiations have begun in this frame starting from January 2014 between the highest competent Authorities of both countries.

2. Other international donors, coordination and division of labor, joint evaluation (harmonization)

In Tunisia donor presence is high, both bilateral and multilateral. Among bilateral donors, France, Italy and Germany are deeply rooted, albeit Switzerland has recently expanded its initiatives. Concerning multilateral donors, Italian Cooperation works together with some United Nations Agencies and with the African Development Bank, funding projects within the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The European Union (present in Tunisia with its own Delegation) is the major contributor, taking into account the joint efforts of Member States. Joint programming at EU level is not yet operational (scheduled for 2016) but the Italian Cooperation is an active member of the coordination clusters regularly organized by the Delegation. Moreover, the Cooperation Office does all efforts in order to encourage the participation of Italian stakeholders in the EU funded programs and projects, in particular Cross-Border Cooperation (ENPI CBC MED, CBC Italy-Tunisia) and the Twinning Program.

3. Other Italian actors of Development Cooperation operating in the country (NGOs, Universities, Local authorities, private sector) and the ways of their involvement.

After the revolution of the 14th of January 2011, Italian presence in Tunisia has changed, according to the different sectors. A good representation of Italian companies still exists; nonetheless they were many more before the revolution and they left because of the political and institutional instability and more in general because of the economic crisis. Inversely, development cooperation actors like NGOs, Universities, and Local Authorities, to whom little leeway was left; have increased their presence and expanded their activities. In particular, the activities of Italian NGOs (like Cospe, CEFA, GVC, ICU, Oxfam Italia, Un Ponte Per..) are focused on the realms of freedom of expression, civil society support, active citizenship, human rights (especially women rights), that have become key subjects of discussion since January 2011. Some NGOs operate to support socio-economic recovery, through activities in the social economy and tourism sector. NGOs interventions concentrate themselves in the most vulnerable areas, and often they work in close collaboration in order to enhance coordination and avoid duplication. Concerning decentralized cooperation, numbers of Italian local authorities like regions, municipalities, chamber of commerce and research institutes are involved in direct cooperation’s relations with their Tunisian homologues. The majority of these partnerships are part of larger programs funded by EU, like Cross Border Cooperation – CBC MED and CBC Italy-Tunisia. Moreover, some regions and municipalities have also their own development cooperation activities, which is often implemented in partnership with Italian NGOs already present in the field. 4. General objectives of the Italian Cooperation in the country, devised with the counterparts and in line with the international guidelines for development effectiveness. The general objective of the Tunisian-Italian cooperation program identified during VI GJM, and treated in accordance with the objectives of XI Development Plan of the Tunisian Government, is to support the socioeconomic and political transition of the country towards more advanced forms of development. In order to do so, Italy made a commitment in four priority sectors: economic development, regional development, environmental protection, socio-sanitary development and valorization of the human resources and the cultural heritage. As a result of the revolutionary facts of 2011 and considering the current phase of democratic transition, the ongoing negotiations to redefine the Tunisian-Italian cooperation program drew additional interventions, namely: a debt swap program, a refinancing of the Commodity Aid program in support to the Balance of Payments, an integrated rural development program in the South of the Country, a support program to the national policies and actions aiming at the promotion of the disabled people, as well as two support programs for the electoral process and the active participation of civil society, a support program for the democratic governance, and finally a de-institutionalization program for minors. The strategy and the modalities of execution of the sector-based programs were developed in a widely participative process, in collaboration with the central and local administrations, the civil society organizations, other development partners and the Italian line Ministries. Based on the experience of these last years, the agreed modalities of execution are those ensuring full ownership of Tunisian Government and its executing Agencies, in accordance with the clauses of art. 15 of the Implementing Regulation of the law 49/87. Contracts are thus completely managed according to the Tunisian law (Use of country procurement system), considered by several years compliant with the best practices (Reliable country system). Due to the political difficulties connected to the current phase of democratic transition, both parties also intend to strengthen their cooperation by means of implementing new initiatives in the sectors of human rights, support to the electoral and democratic process, and support to the active participation of civil society, the execution of which will be entrusted to the United Nations Agencies present in Tunisia. Along with VI GJM an approach by "program" rather than by "project" was favored, while the experience of joint missions of analysis, including at the community level remains still limited. The technical cooperation programs financed by Italy are in synergy with those financed by the European Union system (Strengthen capacity by co-ordinated support), they are included in the development program of the country and devised with the local political partners (Aid flow aligned to national priorities) and the related financial resources are captured in the state budget (Use of country public financial management system). 5. Priority sectors of intervention and expected results. Concerning the private sector support program, the general framework is defined by the memorandum of understanding and its annex 1, which establish the guidelines for the program implementation. This program is aligned with the Tunisian government efforts to make the private sector become a driving force for the development of the country. To fulfill this objective, the Italian Government has engaged itself to transfer to Tunisian Government an amount of 9 million Euros (divided in three tranches) as a grant. The transfer of the second tranche, included in the Italian Cooperation Development Plan 2014-2016 is linked to the exhaustion of the first one, which is now pending. The expected results of the project are the following: the strengthening of the SME support system (institutional partnership), the improvement of youth and women entrepreneurs’ conditions in the priority regions, the strengthening of SME competitiveness and the creation of a better environment for the creation and growth of spin-offs and start-ups in the innovation sector. Concerning the environmental protection program, the general framework is defined by the memorandum of understanding and its annex 1 as well, which establish the guidelines for the program implementation. This program is also aligned with the policies and initiatives of the Tunisian Government towards the conservation of natural resources and the promotion of sustainable development. To fulfill this objective, the Italian Government committed itself to transfer to the Tunisian Government an amount of 9.5 million Euros (divided in three tranches) as a grant. As for the private sector support program, the granting of the second tranche, included in the Italian Cooperation Development Plan 2014-2016 is linked to the exhaustion of the first one, and is now pending. The expected results for the project are the following: preservation and utilization of plant genetics heritage, the strengthening of early warning system for the risks linked to climate changes and extreme climate events, the establishment of a control system for the reduction of coast erosion, institutional capacity building of the management program of coastal ecosystems and the marine protected areas as well as fighting against the waste dumping into the sea. Concerning the social and healthcare development program, the overall objective is to contribute at the fulfillment of the objective established by the XI Development Plan in the healthcare and social welfare sectors. The expected results for the healthcare component are the following: institutional building of oncology units and of the female cancer prevention facilities, creation of a network of homecare at regional and local level, revision and adaptation of the perinatalities’ national strategy, improvement of professional skills of the medical and paramedical staff and the awareness of beneficiaries. In particular, the support project to the National Program against Cancer has been concluded in March 2014. For the social component, the expected results are the following: capacity building in the prevention of disability and in the assistance to people affected by disabilities, skills improvement for the Ministry of Social Affairs in the analysis of social phenomena, capacity building in the field of social integration and in particular to scholastic inclusion of children with disabilities, the creation of an integrated system of qualitative and quantitative observation of children social vulnerability, skills improvement of managers and social workers at central and regional level in the field of prevention and reaction to the factors of children social vulnerability, redefinition and improvement of capacities and role of the children clubs in the districts of “Centre-west” and “Grand Tunis” and finally institutional building and skills improvement of social services providers including State associations, concerning the social vulnerability of the elderly. In this same field, there are ongoing negotiations to outline a new project of 1 million Euros for two years, aiming at supporting the national sector-specific policies, with a special focus on homecare and care of people with disabilities. As regards the human resources and the cultural heritage development program, the global objective is to contribute to the strengthening of the skills and to the diversification of the touristic offer. The expected results in terms of human resources are: the capacity building of the government and the civil servants in the information technology field, and the improvement of the capability of the vocational training system. In terms of cultural heritage, the main results are: the development of the eco-cultural circuits and the strengthening of the professional skills. Concerning the grant programs, negotiations are underway to design a new debt swap program to be utilized to finance development initiatives to be identified at regional level. An additional budget of 5 million Euro will be allocated to develop a new rural and territorial integrated program to be implemented in the South of Tunisia. Concerning the soft loans, negotiations are underway to increase the existing financing for an additional amount of 50 million euro to be dedicated to the improvement of the balance of payments program. The main expected results are: an improved state balance of payment, an improved and increased in number provision of public services, an incensement of currency reserves, an improved level of IT infrastructures and public infrastructures. The expected results for the SME (small and medium-sized enterprises) credit line are: the technical and financial capacities upgrading of the existing SMEs and the creation of new ones. Regarding the solid waste management facilities program, the expected results are: three monitored landfills with the capacity of containing the waste of 5 years constructed and equipped, at least six transfer centers (two for every landfill) constructed and equipped, capacity building of 6 executives of the local institutions in charge of the collection and treatment of urban solid waste, capacity building of 6 executives of the ANPE (Agence Nationale de Protection de l’Environnement) and 2 executives of the central institutions (Ministry of Home Affairs and Ministry of Finances) regarding urban solid waste management. Lastly, the Italian Cooperation in Tunisia envisages four new interventions through the multilateral financing channel. Two of them will be implemented by UNDP, namely: a support project to the electoral process for an estimated amount of approximately 800.000 euro and a project of citizenship promotion and civil society strengthening for an estimated amount of 1.3 million euro. A third project for the de-institutionalization of minors in distress with an estimated budget of approximately 700.000 euro will be implemented by UNICEF. Finally a fourth project to support the capacity building of the competent Tunisian Authorities in the prevention and fight against financial and economic crimes, will be implemented by IDLO for an estimated amount of approximately 100.000euro.