Urgent Adoption of $500 Million Loan Agreement between Tunisia and Afreximbank
A loan agreement worth $500 million, equivalent to 1,581 billion Tunisian dinars, between the Central Bank of Tunisia (BCT) and the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), was urgently adopted on Friday, December 27, by the Tunisian Parliament (ARP) in favor of the Tunisian state.
With 7 votes against and 16 abstentions, the loan, which aims to fill the budget deficit, was approved by 70 votes.
This is not the first loan of its kind, as a previous $500 million loan from Afreximbank was agreed upon on July 31, 2024, following a presidential decree No. 2024-496 of October 14, 2024, published in the Official Journal of the Tunisian Republic (JORT) on October 15, 2024.
During a meeting held on December 25 by the Finance Committee at the ARP to discuss the loan agreement, representatives from the Ministry of Finance emphasized the need to validate the loan before December 31, 2024, as the country urgently requires liquidity due to increasing expenses and limited resources.
Moreover, they highlighted that the interest rate on this loan is lower than the one obtained previously from the same bank.
