The dossier relating to Tunisia’s reform program is no longer on the agenda of the meeting of the Fund’s Board of Directors.
A new date will be set between the Tunisian authorities and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) regarding the review and approval of the Extended Credit Facility for Tunisia, in order to give the country’s authorities time to finalize the details of the program of reform that they presented to him, reported Thursday, the Tunis Afrique Presse Agency (TAP/official).
The IMF Secretariat postponed, on Wednesday, the item scheduled for the agenda of the meetings of its Board of Directors while Tunisia plans to present the file again, during the resumption of the meetings of the management of the Fund after the end-of-year holidays, during the month of January 2023. Consultations relating to the new date are planned in the coming days, between the two parties.
According to the updated calendar published on Wednesday by the IMF, the dossier relating to Tunisia’s reform program is no longer on the agenda of the meeting of the Fund’s board of directors, initially scheduled for December 19, 2022.
The Tunisian file does not appear on the agenda of any meeting of the international financial institution at least, until the date of current December 22, according to the site of the IMF which nevertheless specifies that the calendar is likely to be changed and that the agenda for each meeting is usually finalized the day before, according to TAP.
On October 15, 2022, the IMF announced that its staff and the Tunisian authorities had reached a staff-level agreement to support Tunisia’s economic policies with a 48-month arrangement, under the Extended Fund Facility, approximately $1.9 billion.
The financial institution had specified, in a press release, that the final validation of this agreement must be done at the level of the fund’s board of directors, which is to meet in December 2022 to examine Tunisia’s request.
The IMF representative in Tunisia, Marc Gérard, had indicated in a statement to the media, on the sidelines of the 36th edition of the Enterprise Days held in Sousse, that the disbursement of the first tranche of the loan is dependent on the decision of the Board of the IMF. He also stressed that the examination of the reform program presented by Tunisia will continue at the level of the IMF board of directors, adding that these reforms will have a positive impact on the country.
Tunisia is counting on IMF financing to supply its budget and open up new prospects for financing with other international donors, the same source reads.
