The International Monetary Fund (IMF) announced on Saturday evening that it had decided to grant a loan of 1.9 billion dollars to Tunisia to support its economic policies.
According to a press release from the international financial institution, this agreement must be validated by the fund’s board of directors, which is to meet next December.
And to explain that this agreement aims to restore macroeconomic stability, strengthen social security and tax fairness and accelerate reforms to anchor an enabling environment in order to achieve inclusive growth and create sustainable employment.
In exchange for this disbursement, the Tunisian government has committed to a program of reforms including in particular the taxation of the informal economy, support measures for the most modest, as well as a strengthening of transparency within the public sector.
The new four-year agreement “will support the authorities’ economic reform agenda to restore Tunisia’s fiscal and external stability, strengthen social protection, and promote higher, greener and more inclusive growth,” they said. , in a statement, Chris Geiregat and Brett Rayner, who headed the IMF team that visited Tunisia this week.
In its report on the outlook for the world economy, released last Tuesday, the IMF predicts that growth in Tunisia will stand at 2.2% in 2022 and 1.6% in 2023.
Tunisia is facing an unprecedented economic and political crisis. Its budget deficit could exceed 9% this year, while inflation in the country reached 9.1% over one year in September, and food prices are soaring even more, up 13% compared to the same period last year.