São Paulo – Tunisia, an Arab country which staged popular protests and underwent a change in regime last year, will receive financing from international banks to help recover its economy. The African Development Bank (ADB) will provide 387 million euros (US$ 500 million) to the government to boost the budget next year. The European Investment Bank (EIB) supplied 200 million euros (US$ 258 million at current exchange rates) to Tunisian banks, as recently reported by ANBA.
The European bank’s line of credit went to banks such as Amen Bank, Attijari Bank, Banke Tuniso-Koweitienne (BTK) and Bank of Tunisia, according to a report from the African news agency Panapress quoting the EIB.
The agreement with the ADB was signed this week in Tunis by the Tunisian minister of Investment and International Cooperation, Riadh Bettaieb, and the ADB’s vice president Ndoumbe Lobe.
The loan will be awarded on December 31st this year and will mature in 20 years. According to Lobe, the loan will aim to help Tunisia consolidate its economic stability and implement the reforms needed in order to create jobs.
The country’s economy was affected by the Arab Spring, but is now recovering. Tunisian economic activity is varied, comprising agriculture, mining, tourism and manufacturing. The country sells fertilizers to Brazil and is a major phosphate manufacturer.
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
