Tunisia has proven its ability to pay significant debts, including a loan of 850 million euros, without significantly affecting its foreign currency reserves, said Moez Hadidane.
In an interview with the Echourouk newspaper published today, Saturday, March 30, 2024, the economist added that the trade balance deficit could be reduced and that other economic indicators are improving.
Thus, Moody’s, through maintaining Tunisia’s credit rating at the CAA2 level and raising its future outlook from negative to stable, considered that there is no reason to ensure that the outlook for Tunisian sovereign debt is negative despite maintaining the rating at a low level because it cannot be improved given that it remains incompatible with the risks of investing in Tunisian debt. But, believes Hadidane, what must be remembered is that the agency is not likely to continue lowering our country’s rating, in any case shortly.
Consequently, Tunisia avoided the risk of defaulting on its debt for the year 2024, added the economist in the same interview, especially since our country was able to pay, until 25 March, more than a third of its external debts for the current year, and there is, therefore, no problem at this level.
As for the years 2025 and 2026, we cannot anticipate Tunisia’s capacity to repay its debts before knowing the stock of its foreign currency reserves at the end of the current year. This does not mean that the State will not face difficulties in this area, particularly in supplying the market with basic products (fuel, cereals, rice, cooking oil, coffee, tea, etc.) because finances Public authorities are under strong pressure, but these difficulties will be cyclical.
Hadidane also underlined the need to properly manage the national stock of currencies and to move towards major reforms, especially as Tunisia is preparing to repay, on January 31, 2025, its largest loan on the international market, worth a billion dollars in foreign currencies. We must therefore continue to improve our foreign currency stock and avoid resorting to the central bank for financing in order not to enter a negative trajectory, warned the economist.
