Tunisian gov’t begins talks on IMF reform program

The Tunisian government started a series of talks with major social and labor organizations to discuss Tunisia’s economic recovery. The talks came after the Tunisian government announced, last Friday, the conclusion of a memorandum of understanding with the Tunisian General Labor Union and the Tunisian Confederation of Industry, Trade and Handicrafts, to start talks on the International Monetary Fund’s economic reform program. Tunisia is seeking a 4-billion-U.S. dollar loan from the IMF to address the economic crisis exacerbated by the political crisis, Covid-19 pandemic, and Ukraine war. Economists told A24 that although the talks between the government and labor organizations reassure foreign investors and satisfy donor financial institutions, they are only a kind of media and political marketing. Tunisian people commended the dialogue between the government and the trade unions to agree on the necessary measures to rescue the national economy.