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Germany ambassador: 'We will provide $115m loan to Tunisia, monitor road map to return constitutional order’

January 22, 2022 at 12:49 pm

German Embassy in Tunisia Ambassador Peter Prügel [@TOLOnews/Twitter]

The German Embassy in Tunisia announced on Friday that Ambassador Peter Prügel confirmed during a conversation with Tunisian Minister of Finance Sihem Boughdiri Nemsia the payment of a €100 million ($115 million) loan by the German KfW Development Bank, agreed upon in 2020.

In a statement on Facebook, the embassy indicated that Germany: “Rewards Tunisia through the disbursement of ‘reform funding’ to implement reforms in the banking and financial sectors, which were previously agreed upon as part of the German-Tunisian Reform Partnership.”

The embassy affirmed that the goal of the reforms is to: “Improve financial inclusion and access to financial services for small and medium-sized enterprises as a prerequisite for inclusive economic growth and employment in Tunisia.”

The embassy also pointed out that the loan: “Is an expression of Germany’s rightly standing by Tunisia’s side, especially in critical times.”

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It also quoted the ambassador reiterating: “The decision to lend was made on the basis of confidence that the road map prepared by the president of the republic will pave the way for a return to the constitutional order and the restoration of democratic gains in the country.”

The ambassador also pointed to: “The statement made by the High Representative on behalf of the European Union on 16 December, 2021, in which he stressed the importance of respecting human and fundamental rights for all Tunisians, as well as ensuring the separation of powers and the rule of law in the country.”

Prügel asserted that his country: “Will closely monitor future developments through close cooperation with its European and other international partners,” and that it is “ready to continue supporting the consolidation of Tunisian democracy.”

Tunisia's president Kais Saied is bleeding the country - Cartoon [Sabaaneh/Middle East Monitor]

Tunisia’s president Kais Saied is bleeding the country – Cartoon [Sabaaneh/Middle East Monitor]