RIYADH: Saudi Arabia will give Tunisia $400 million as a soft loan and $100 million as a grant to support the north African country’s ailing economy, the Saudi Press Agency has reported.
The financial aid, given under the directives of King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, consisted of a $400 million concessional loan deal and a memorandum of understanding linked to the grant.
The agreement was inked by Saudi Minister of Finance Mohammed Al-Jadaan and his Tunisian counterpart Siham Al-Boughdiri.
Al-Jadaan said the financial package formed part of the Kingdom’s efforts to support the development and economies of Arab and Islamic countries.
“This will support the stability and prosperity of the Tunisian economy and will help pave the way for further financial support for Tunisia from regional and international financial institutions,” Al-Jadaan said on Twitter.
He added that Saudi Arabia would continue to work toward furthering cooperation with Tunisia on several fronts, and he noted that the Kingdom had provided the north African country’s public treasury with a $500 million cash loan in 2019.
The deal came as Tunisia’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Nabil Ammar met with his Saudi counterpart Prince Faisal bin Farhan in Jeddah, where the two discussed regional and international developments and the most prominent issues of common concern.
Saudi Arabia has looked to provide finance to a number of countries in recent months.
Earlier this month, the Kingdom deposited $2 billion in Pakistan’s central bank in a move to help unlock $3 billion in bailout cash from the International Monetary Fund.
In June, the Saudi Fund for Development signed a development loan agreement worth $45 million with the Prime Minister of Belize, John Briceno, for the construction of the Tertiary Hospital in the Belmopan Area Project.
The agreement is part of the Kingdom’s efforts to support sustainable development in developing countries and Small Island Developing States around the world.
Since its establishment in 1974, SFD has implemented more than 700 development projects and programs in 86 countries worldwide, making Belize the 87th country to receive funding for a development project following the signing of the deal.
