The World Bank (WB) is ready to accompany Tunisia in the execution of its reform program, according to reports in the official Agence Tunis- Afrique Presse (TAP).
The global body has also offered to continue the implementation of ongoing cooperation projects, according to WB vice-president for the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) Region, Ferid Belhaj.
He was speaking during a meeting, on Friday, February 18, with Finance Minister Sihem Boughdiri Nemessia.
These ongoing projects include the social protection program and the support program for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), according to the Finance Ministry.
Nemessia also welcomed the efforts made by the WB to support economic and social development, saying Tunisia was counting on the support of its economic partners during this difficult period.
The World Bank has already promised $400 million (about 1,152.5 million dinars) to support Tunisia’s social reforms, according to a TAP report from earlier in the week.
Other financing was expected to follow to support SMEs, acquire vaccines, and provide the necessary health support for the country, Belhaj said at a meeting on Tuesday with Prime Minister Najla Bouden.
He is also said to have expressed the World Bank’s readiness to mobilize all the funding needed by Tunisia to implement economic reforms.
According to the report, Bouden at the meeting welcomed the World Bank’s confidence in Tunisian institutions and its willingness to finance the reforms initiated by the government, particularly those with a social aspect aiming to support vulnerable groups.