Tunisia borrows $116m from Germany for development

Tunisia borrowed €99.9 million ($116.2 million) from Germany to support developmental projects, the Anadolu Agency reported.

In a statement released yesterday, the Tunisian foreign ministry said that Tunisia and Germany signed technical and financial cooperation agreements wherein Tunisia will borrow nearly $116.2 million from Germany. “$31.2 million of the loan is a grant from Germany,” the statement said.

According to the ministry, the grant will be allocated to develop bilateral cooperation between the two countries and to support projects in the fields of water, energy, the environment and the promotion of employment and local development.

It said the two countries signed a technical cooperation agreement worth €13 million ($15.12 million) which will be allocated for the advancement of microfinance projects and supporting decentralisation. The financial agreement worth €86.9 million ($101.07 million) will be in the form of loans provided from the German Institute for projects in the fields of water, energy, the environment and developing industry, the statement said.

The ministry said such bilateral agreements reflect Germany’s commitment to continue supporting Tunisia and reflect the strong friendship and partnership between the two countries.