Tunisia is set to receive about 2.8 billion US dollars from a four-year loan programme by the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Tunisian authorities requested for the loan in order to support its economic vision and reform priorities. Over the last year, the government has been working to strengthen its economic reforms and has established a five-year development plan. This strategic plan is expected to boost the economy and help solve the country’s relentless woes of unemployment.
The loan program will be subject to approval next month by the IMF’s executive board. In a statement, IMF Tunisia Mission Chief Amine Mati said the loan facility will support the Tunisian government’s development goals of boosting growth, reducing vulnerabilities and fostering sustainable job creation. The North African state’s economy is struggling with a drop in tourism revenues after four major militant attacks over the past year, and an outbreak of social unrest over jobs and development at the start of this year.
Tunisia’s economic progress has fallen behind since the 2011 uprising against autocrat Zine El-Abidine Ben Ali that bought the country to full democracy and triggered “Arab Spring” revolutions across North Africa and the Middle East. Read more on this loan deal by clicking here.