Tunisia has not officially expressed the desire to join the BRICS group of nations (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) and does not meet membership criteria.

There is need for it, though, to get involved in exchanges with this group, especially as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has not yet decided on the loan request, the Tunisian Observatory of Economy. (French: OTE) said in a note released on the 15th summit of member countries.

In a note entitled « North Africa and the BRICS: If It is a 'Card to Play' to for Exiting the IMF, There Are Several Options the Region Should Bet On," the observatory suggests that Tunisia and its partners in North Africa could call for decoupling the grouping's financial mechanisms from IMF.

Currently, countries can access only 30% of their quota without the obligation to obtain an IMF programme beforehand.

It would also be important for North African countries, the OTE said, to lend increased interest to relations with the Arab Monetary Fund (AMF), another regional financial mechanism that could facilitate the region's emancipation from the IMF. They could consequently seek enhanced financial capacities of this fund.

North African countries could play another card by means of forging ahead with talks on a protocol which provides for the establishment of the African Monetary Fund. So far, this promising alternative has been adopted only by Mauritania.

The 15th BRICS Summit officially started on August 22 in South Africa and is expected to explore the possibility of taking in new members which have demonstrated interest.

For this year, Morocco, Algeria, and Egypt (North Africa) are among the 23 candidates.

The BRICS group created its own financial mechanisms, including the BRICS Contingent Reserve Arrangement (CRA) which can be considered as an alternative of the IMF, and the New Development Bank - an alternative to the World Bank.

The volume of Tunisia's trade with the BRICS member countries increased in 2022. It grew 50% with Brazil and India and 84% with Russia. China has also become Tunisia's second largest supplier after France.

For the OTE, regional groupings like BRICS represent one of the alternatives to IMF financing.Tunisia is participating in the 15th BRICS Summit (August 22- 24) in Johannesburg, South Africa. The Tunisian delegation is led by Minister of Foreign Affairs, Migration, and Tunisians Abroad, Nabil Ammar.

Earlier, Minister of Economy and Planning Samir Saied said the volume of Tunisia's economy does not allow it to join the BRICS group.

"We need to be realistic given that the volume of trade with these countries is relatively modest, " the note reads.

Concretely, Tunisia needs to strengthen its relations with Europe, the EU and Africa.

Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse