(Geneva, 25 October 2015)  Tunisia’s  stock exchange has made a public commitment to the sustainability and transparency of capital markets in the newly transitioned country by becoming a United Nations Sustainable Stock Exchanges Partner Exchange.

Shortly after signing its commitment to the initiative, Tunis Stock Exchange CEO Mr. Bilel Sahnoun said they “will be focusing on increasing listed companies’ transparency and commitment to environmental, social and corporate governance issues.”

“From our position, we can act as a credible prescriber of various market stakeholders to promote corporate sustainability,” he added.

In the wake of the “Jasmine Revolution” of 2011, the Tunisian National Dialogue Quartet was awarded a Nobel Peace Prize for its decisive contribution to the building of a pluralistic democracy in Tunisia. The quartet established a peaceful political process that was able to save the country from civil war and enable the country to establish a constitutional system of government guaranteeing fundamental rights for the entire population.

“After a successful democratic transition, confirmed by the Nobel Peace Prize for 2015, Tunisia has to reshape its development model towards a sustainable economic growth and a social cohesion and stability. That requires not only transparency and stability of capital markets but also a strong social and environmental dimension,” said Mr. Bilel Sahnoun in reference to the exchange partnering with the SSE.

“As a key player in the financial markets business, Tunis Stock Exchange is committed to leverage on its position to raise awareness on environmental, social and corporate governance issues, and to spread sustainable business practices.”

“We are very pleased to join the SSE,” Mr. Bilel Sahnoun added.

Tunis Stock Exchange is the second MENA region exchange to join the SSE, the first since founding Partner Exchange Egyptian Stock Exchange joined in 2012. In Africa, the SSE now has 7 Partner Exchanges in: Egypt, Kenya, Mauritius, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa and now Tunisia.

Over the past year, the SSE has more than doubled the number of its Partner Exchanges, as global movements around the sustainability of capital markets, corporate responsibility and financing sustainable development continue to grow in support of the new United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.