Hommam Al Nassim 
The Tunisian Ministry of Finance announced that the government will benefit from a syndicated loan worth $175 million from 16 local banking institutions to finance the 2024 budget.
Finance Minister Siham Al-Boughdiri said that the combined loan will contribute to “stabilizing the foreign currency reserve,” at a time when the country is facing a scarcity of external financing.
Tunisia is facing a severe financial crisis amid the disruption of a potential program with the International Monetary Fund under which it would have received financing worth $1.9 billion, but the final agreement faltered.
A World Bank report stated that Tunisia’s economic recovery suddenly faltered in 2023, amid a severe drought, tight financing conditions, and a low pace of reforms.
The report explained that this slowdown led to the Tunisian economy in 2023 below its level before the Corona epidemic, recording one of the slowest cases of recovery in the Middle East and North Africa region.
According to official data, economic growth in Tunisia slowed to 0.2% in the first quarter of 2024 compared to 1.1% in the same period last year, and the unemployment rate rose to 16.2% in the first quarter compared to 16.1% in the same period of 2023.
The Re-opening of the Ras Jedir border crossing between Libya and Tunisia