TUNIS: The International Monetary Funds says Tunisia is committed to “decisive action” to reform its economy before the IMF reviews the payment of its next loan tranche.
Last year, the Washington-based IMF agreed a four-year loan program worth about $2.8 billion with Tunisia, but tied to economic reforms.
Tunisia has been hit by a sharp fall in tourism revenues and fresh foreign investment because of militant attacks in 2015 and overall turmoil since the 2010 overthrow of long-time ruler Zine El Abidine Ben Ali.
“Building on their ambitious budget law for 2018, the Tunisian authorities have expressed their commitment to take decisive action,” the IMF said in a statement late on Wednesday after a visit of a delegation to Tunis.
“The main challenge for the months ahead is to make-up for the significant delays in lifting long-standing obstacles to growth and addressing large fiscal and external deficits,” it said.
Economic Reforms Minister Taoufik Rajhi told Reuters the staff-level deal reached with the IMF delegation opened the door to the third loan installment.
“It confirms the reform paths followed by the government,” he said.
The IMF has been pressing Tunisia to reduce the public wage bill — at almost 15 percent of GDP one of the world’s highest — and energy subsidies, which it said were “disproportionately” benefiting the rich.
Both cuts would be targetted at reducing the deficit.
In the 2018 budget, Tunisia plans cut its budget deficit to 4.9 percent of gross domestic product in 2018, down from about 6 percent expected in 2017, officials have said.
The IMF said it supported efforts by Tunisia to get removed from a blacklist of 17 jurisdictions imposed by the European Union this month on what the bloc deemed to be tax havens.
The decision shocked the North African country with analysts warning it will undermine badly needed investment and efforts to secure $3 billion in foreign loans to fund its budget next year.
In April, the IMF agreed to release a delayed $320 million tranche of Tunisia loans.
Tunisia wants to reduce the public workforce by 20,000 from 800,000 via voluntary redundancies but will go ahead with a wage increase for public servants in 2018 as agreed with powerful labor unions.
Tunisia ready for “decisive action” on economy, IMF says
Tunisia ready for “decisive action” on economy, IMF says
Syria accuses Hezbollah of firing shells into its territory
- “The Syrian Arab Army will not tolerate any aggression targeting Syria,” the army said in a statement to SANA
DAMASCUS: Syria said Iran-backed Hezbollah had fired artillery shells into its territory from Lebanon overnight, state media reported on Tuesday, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Lebanese Shia movement.
Syrian army officials said artillery shells fired from Lebanon landed near the town of Serghaya, west of Damascus, the state news agency SANA reported on Tuesday.
The army accused Hezbollah of targeting Syrian army positions, telling the news agency it observed Hezbollah reinforcements at the Syrian-Lebanese border.
“The Syrian Arab Army will not tolerate any aggression targeting Syria,” the army said in a statement to SANA.
Lebanon was drawn into the Middle East war last week when Hezbollah attacked Israel in response to the killing of Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei during US-Israeli strikes.
Hezbollah and Israeli forces have clashed in eastern Lebanon in recent days, and Israel has carried out strikes across Lebanon, including on the capital Beirut.
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun accused Hezbollah of working to “collapse” the state, while the head of the group’s parliamentary bloc said it had “no other option... than the option of resistance.”
Hezbollah provided military support to former Syrian president Bashar Assad, who was overthrown in December 2024 by an Islamist coalition hostile to the pro-Iranian Shia movement.
Since then, its supply routes from Syria have been cut off, and Lebanese and Syrian authorities are trying to combat smuggling across the porous border between the two countries.
