“Tunisia should reach a final agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in early 2023, said Finance Minister Sihem Boughdiri.

She was speaking at a press conference held Monday at the Cité des Cultures in Tunis to present the measures included in the 2023 Finance Law.

She recalled that the IMF Board of Directors had only delayed the date of the meeting to examine Tunisia’s file on the loan programme.»

The IMF Board of Directors, on December 14, had postponed the review and approval of the 48-month Extended Fund Facility (EFF), initially scheduled for December 19.

An official source told TAP on December 15 that a new date will be set to give the Tunisian authorities more time to finalise the details of the reform programme they have presented to the IMF.

Tunisia plans to present the file again when the IMF board resumes its meetings after the end of the year holidays, during January 2023, the same source said.

The Finance Minister told reporters that the government has already begun work to introduce certain improvements and meet certain requirements, including the 2023 finance law, which is part of the initial agreement with the IMF.

Several other conditions must be fulfilled in order to reach an agreement with the IMF, namely the reform of the law on public enterprises, the minister stressed, announcing that the examination of the said law will start in the coming days.

Despite the pressures on public finances, the 2023 Finance Law has paid particular attention to vulnerable categories and the middle class, in addition to the reform of the subsidy system, which should benefit those who need it.

The IMF, on October 15, announced that its staff and the Tunisian authorities had reached a staff-level agreement to support Tunisia’s economic policies with a 48-month Extended Fund Facility of about $1.9 billion.

The IMF specified on the same day that the final approval must be done at the level of the board of directors of the fund to examine Tunisia’s request.

It explained that this agreement aims at restoring macroeconomic stability, strengthening social security and fiscal equity and accelerating reforms to anchor an enabling environment to achieve inclusive growth and create sustainable employment.

Source: Tap News Agency