The Central Bank of Tunisia (BCT) announced today that BCT Governor Fethi Zouhair Nouri participated in the annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank Group held in Washington DC from October 21 to 26.
Fethi Zouhair Nouri held, on October 23 and 24, 2024, a series of meetings with investors on international financial markets during which he reviewed recent developments in the economic and financial situation in Tunisia while recalling Tunisia’s comparative advantages and inviting them to believe in the future of the country.
“The best economic policies are those that take into account local realities,” said Mr. Fethi Zouhair Nouri, Governor of the BCT, borrowing a quote from Joseph Stiglitz, Nobel Prize winner in economics, during the meeting chaired by Ms. Kristalina Georgieva, Managing Director of the IMF.
“In his speech, Fethi Zouhair Nouri called for a review of the methods currently adopted by the IMF to better take into account the diversity and complexity of the economic and social challenges of member countries and to adapt the Fund’s intervention mechanisms to the specific context of each of these countries,” reads a BCT press release.
In this context, he stressed the importance of a continuous self-assessment of the IMF to regain the confidence of its member states and to learn lessons from past experiences while recalling the negative impacts of certain imposed austerity measures which have, in many cases, aggravated the recession in certain countries and triggered social tensions.
Furthermore, Fethi Zouhair Nouri discussed the challenges and new dynamics facing today’s world, such as climate change, technological changes, geopolitical tensions, and the exacerbation of inequalities, and called for a more flexible and differentiated approach from the IMF.
To this end, he stressed the importance of integrating social, economic, and environmental dimensions into the Fund’s programs to ensure reforms capable of promoting resilient, inclusive, equitable, and sustainable growth.
