The Tunisian authorities are working with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on a "fair" economic reform programme that takes account of vulnerable groups, Governor of the Central Bank of Tunisia (BCT), Marouane Abassi, said in Tunis on Thursday.

Speaking at a debate organised by the Tunisian-German Chamber of Industry and Commerce, Abassi stressed the importance of "paying attention" to the middle class and vulnerable groups, who are in difficulty because of inflation and the fall in their purchasing power, as mentioned earlier by the President Kais Saied.

"Planning a fair reform programme is a fundamental issue. The World Bank has understood this and so must the IMF," stressed the Governor of the BCT during this debate on "Tunisia's economic challenges, opportunities and risks - visions and achievements."

Abassi also recalled that the Managing Director of the IMF, Kristalina Georgieva, had told him during a meeting held in Morocco on Tuesday as part of the preparations for the annual meetings of the World Bank and the IMF scheduled for next October in Marrakech, that her financial institution would also like to reach a "fair" programme with Tunisia.

Speaking at a press conference in Luxembourg on June 16, Kristalina Georgieva said that the IMF had been working "closely" with the Tunisian authorities for some time and reported "significant progress" in the discussions between the two parties.

She added that the situation in Tunisia was not so dramatic as tourism had picked up.

"We fully agree that it would be great for Tunisia to implement reforms that would strengthen the economy and improve the prospects for the Tunisian people," she said, adding that there was no disagreement between her institution and the Tunisian authorities on the key elements of the reforms.

"It is on the details of the implementation of the reforms that we still have work to do," she noted.

"To be clear for the IMF, our objective is to support a dynamic and equitable economy, where the poor do not pay to subsidise the rich, and I am sure we will agree on the precise way to achieve this," she concluded.

During his meeting with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, President of the European Commission, Ursula Von der Leyen, and Prime Minister of the Netherlands, Mark Rutte, at the Palace of Carthage, the President of the Republic said that the solutions negotiated with the IMF must not be presented in the form of diktats.

"Conventional solutions will only aggravate the social crisis and have a negative impact on the situation in Tunisia and the entire region," he stressed, calling on the Fund to review its proposals in order to find a solution.

Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse