Asia

Asia

France reinforces financial support for Tunisia as Macron visits

01 February 2018 02:08 (UTC +04:00)

France said on Wednesday it would provide Tunisia with more than 272 million euros ($338 million) in new financing as it seeks to bolster the North African nation’s democratic transition, APA reports quoting Reuters.

The support, announced during a visit to Tunis by French President Emmanuel Macron, includes 177 million euros in loans for state sector reform and urban development, and 50 million euros in aid for the digital economy.

It also includes the conversion of 30 million euros of debt into development projects and a 15 million-euro credit line for small and medium-sized businesses.

Tunisia has been held up as the only democratic success story in the region after an uprising in 2011 that launched the Arab Spring, but its transition has been undercut by deep economic problems that have fueled unrest.

Earlier this month protests erupted across the country after the government, under pressure from international lenders, implemented price and tax hikes to shrink the deficit.

“I will state it very clearly,” Macron told reporters after meeting Tunisian President Beji Caid Essebsi. “Tunisia’s success in defending its values - democratic, of freedom of conscience, of equality between men and women - is our battle as well.”

“It’s not aid that France is bringing Tunisia, it’s a task that we need to undertake together. If you fail, we will fail the next day or the day after.”