Turkey ready to provide $200m for finance development projects in Tunisia

Turkey is ready to provide $200 million to finance development projects in Tunisia, the country’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said.

The announcement came in a meeting, held in New York yesterday evening, between Erdogan and Tunisian President Mohamed Moncef Marzouki to discuss the mechanisms for the development of relations between the two countries in all fields, especially economic and security, according to a statement issued by the Presidency of the Republic of Tunisia today.

The statement did not elaborate on the nature of the funds provided and whether they would be in the form of loans or grants. Turkey gave Tunisia a loan worth $500 million last year which Tunisia received in two installments.

Erdogan said his country is ready to provide $200 million to Tunisia to finance development projects and contribute to strengthening the economic partnership between the two countries, stressing that Turkey is open to any proposals which contribute to the advancement of relations between the two countries.

There are currently approximately 100 economic agreements signed between the two countries.

The two presidents also discussed ways to enhance security and military cooperation, and the exchange of experiences in the face of terrorism.

The Turkish president said that his country was ready to provide Tunisia with equipment for advanced logistics, to help them counter the threat of terrorism, stressing the importance of supporting the transitional path in Tunisia, which is considered a model in the region.