Tunisia continues its efforts to stabilize its economy in 2024 by mobilizing significant international financing to support the state budget. Loans, more loans! At the same time, the country recorded a cyclical reduction in its trade deficit, but inflation remains high and the economy is struggling to recover.
Tunisia succeeded in mobilizing an envelope of 50 million euros from the Italian government, intended to finance the state budget for the fiscal year 2024. This agreement, signed on 17 April 2024, was ratified by Presidential Decree No. EU Official Gazette No. 100 of 2024.
In addition to this Italian funding, Tunisia has also secured other sources of funding to support its budget. The Arab Monetary Fund (AMF) granted it $38 million, while the African Development Bank (AfDB) released $400 million. As part of the bilateral cooperation, discussions are underway with Algeria to obtain 300 million dollars and with Saudi Arabia for funding of 500 million dollars.
The European Union (EU) also provided its support by releasing budget support of 150 million euros, or approximately 506 million dinars, in the form of a donation. This direct financial transfer from the EU to the Tunisian treasury represents significant support for the country.
At the national level, Tunisia managed to raise resources in foreign currency thanks to an agreement with several local banks that enabled the mobilization of 156 million euros and 16 million dollars to finance the 2024 budget.
All these loans will undoubtedly increase the country’s external debt, which is reaching an unprecedented level. We would have liked to see these funds used to stimulate investment, that is, the creation of wealth and jobs, but they are often used to finance the state budget, which continues its tendency to increase while the rate of economic growth is sluggish ( 0, 4% in 2023).
On another level, Tunisia’s trade deficit decreased to 9,633.3 million dinars at the end of July 2024 compared to 10,225.8 MTD for the same period in 2023. The import-export coverage ratio increased by 1.4 points and reached 79.4% according to data published by the National Institute of Statistics (INS).
It is nevertheless true that the country’s trade deficit remains very high and is the main reason for keeping inflation at a relatively high level (7%), as inflation in our country is largely imported.
TK
