The CGEM was represented at this ceremony by its vice-president, Mehdi Tazi, who proceeded with the presidents of employers of 25 countries, the official signing of the statutes establishing this alliance.

The APF, whose presidency has been entrusted for a two-year term to the Mouvement des Entreprises de France (MEDEF), aims to accelerate business flows between private companies.

The first official meeting of the Alliance also launched seven thematic working groups, including one focused on "Investment facilitation and co-investment", co-chaired by the CGEM and its Madagascar counterpart; the Groupement des Entreprises de Madagascar.

Presiding over the ceremony, the Head of the Tunisian Government, Najla Bouden stressed "the relevance of the approach to give substance to a more active economic Francophonie, whose contours were outlined at the last meeting of Francophone entrepreneurs in Paris in August 2021.

She added that this new framework for economic partnership "is all the more necessary as our francophone area in the north and south faces major challenges that require more convergence and solidarity against the backdrop of the health crisis and conflict in Ukraine, in addition to their socio-economic ramifications."

"Faced with this unprecedented situation, the alliance of French-speaking employers is particularly important because it offers a suitable platform to forge together innovative and ambitious approaches to increase our economic exchanges and exploit the full economic potential of our French-speaking area," she said.

"In addition to the common cultural and linguistic base, our space represents a market of more than 500 million people and participates in 16% of global GDP with an average annual growth of 7%," said Bouden.

For his part, MEDEF President Geoffroy Roux de Bézieux said that seven months after the first meeting in Paris of Francophone entrepreneurs, "we could say that our promises begin to materialize with the signing of the Tunis Agreement."

He described the creation of this alliance as a "real achievement" in the current health and international context. "It is historic because never before have the private sectors of French-speaking countries come together with such a willingness to create together the tools of a Francophonie of business," he said.

The alliance, whose next meeting is scheduled to take place in Abidjan next October, will have a permanent organization and will have as its mission to accelerate the flow of business between French-speaking companies.