Tunisia Requests Direct Funding from Central Bank to Settle Urgent Debts

Tunisian Finance Minister Sihem Boughediri announced that the government has turned to request direct funding from the central bank to settle urgent foreign debts, including international bonds worth 850 million euros due for repayment on February 16 of this year. Central Bank Governor Marwan Abbasi told the parliamentary finance committee that repaying the external loan of 850 million euros will lead to a loss of currency reserves equivalent to 14 days of imports and will impact the exchange rate but will not affect inflation. Parliament members had told Reuters on Tuesday that the government requested exceptional direct funding from the central bank amounting to seven billion dinars (2.25 billion dollars) to bridge this year’s budget deficit due to the scarcity of external financing.