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Tunisia: Public debt at highest level 

April 12, 2021 at 1:17 pm

A man retrieves cash from an ATM in the capital Tunis, Tunisia on March 27, 2020 [FETHI BELAID/AFP via Getty Images]

Tunisian Minister of Finance and Investment Ali Al-Kali announced that public debt has reached its highest level, amounting to 16 billion Tunisian dinars ($5.7 billion).

In a statement to Watania 1, Al-Kali said: “Tunisia’s budget deficit is mainly related to paying back old loans, which prompted the government to borrow more funds to bridge the debts.”

He stressed that “negotiations are underway with Tunisian banks and foreign countries to mobilise the necessary financial resources.”

The minister added: “The current period will witness the conclusion of several discussions and talks,” confirming that many successes will be achieved in the coming days and weeks.

These announcements come in the midst of a political crisis affecting Tunisia and hindering the work of the government, as the Tunisian President Kais Saied refused to approve the recent cabinet reshuffle, under various pretexts, while Prime Minister Hichem Mechichi, who won the confidence of Parliament, believes that Saied is intentionally impeding the government.

READ: ‘Tunisia needs respectful parliament and responsible government’, says Kais Saied