IMF on the Verge of Financing Tunisia with $1.9 Billion

The Director of the Middle East and Central Asia Department at the International Monetary Fund, Jihad Azour, stated that "the fund is about to finalize a financial arrangement that will allow Tunisia to receive a rescue package worth $1.9 billion." Azour added to Bloomberg that "the fund needed to ensure that adequate financing for the program was in place," continuing that "the good news is that we are nearing completion." The IMF official explained that "although Tunisia reached a staff-level agreement with the IMF in October, the deal has not yet been reviewed for approval by the fund's directors," pointing out that "progress in negotiations depends on additional support that Tunisia's allies may provide, and the government's implementation of the necessary measures to obtain liquidity."