The French Development Agency (AFD) announces the signing of two financing agreements, this Thursday, October 22, by Mr. Jean-Yves Le Drian, Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs, on the occasion of his visit to Tunis , indicates a press release from the French Embassy in Tunisia.
The first framework agreement signed has funding of 350 million euros (more than one billion dinars) to support economic reforms, promote job-creating growth and improve the living conditions of Tunisians. It will support the commitment of priority reforms in Tunisia during the period 2020-2022.
A first tranche of credit of 150 million euros of this three-year framework agreement was signed today to promote the resilience of the Tunisian economy, of which 100 million euros will be available this year. The installments for 2021 and 2022 will have to be confirmed depending, in particular, on the progress of the reforms.
This funding is in line with the commitments made by the President of the French Republic, Emmanuel Macron, with the Head of State, Kais Saied during his visit to France in June 2020.
Exceptional support from several international donors
This agreement is part of a reform support program for the Tunisian State and benefits from the exceptional support of several other international donors: the World Bank, the Japanese International Cooperation Agency (JICA), the public bank of German investment (KfW) who have just carried out a joint monitoring mission in close coordination with the African Development Bank (ADB), the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the European Union (EU).
Through this budget support, AFD is notably continuing its contribution to strengthening the governance of public enterprises and their performance, to the establishment of a more efficient and equitable social protection system, to the improvement of offering adapted and diversified financial services including the deployment of digital financial services and the restructuring of the urban transport sector.
This public policy support loan is accompanied by a subsidy of 1 million euros for technical support for the implementation of targeted reforms.
According to Mr. Yazid Safir, Director of AFD in Tunisia, the joint support of Tunisia’s technical and financial partners is exceptional, and should help speed up the implementation of the essential reforms prioritized by the authorities.
38 million euros to secure the supply of drinking water
The French Development Agency (AFD) has also signed, with the Tunisian Republic and the National Company of Exploitation and Distribution of Water (SONEDE), a financing of a total amount of 38 million euros to secure the drinking water supply for Greater Tunis until 2040.
This project, co-financed by the European Investment Bank (EIB), will concretely allow the construction in Béjaoua – governorate of Manouba – of a new drinking water treatment station and associated structures (pipes, reservoirs and pumping), in order to secure the entire drinking water supply system in Greater Tunis.
In total, the project is expected to benefit a population estimated at around 2.78 million inhabitants today and which could reach 3.2 million inhabitants by 2030.
These investments are accompanied by a subsidy of one million euros for the development of the Drinking Water Master Plan for Greater Tunis 2021-2045, a strategic document for SONEDE for the operation of its network, forecasting investments and the renewal of infrastructures, as well as the management and optimization of its resources in the coming years.
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