The Tunisian Confederation of Industry, Trade and Handicrafts (UTICA) on Wednesday welcomed the progress of negotiations between Tunisia and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), calling on the government to promptly undertake socio-economic and financial structural reforms.
Expressing its support to the Tunisian government’s efforts to conclude a new financing agreement with the fund, the confederation underscored the need to speed up structural reforms to cope with the current crisis, characterised by the worsening of public finances due to the rise in commodity and oil prices on the international markets caused by the Russian-Ukrainian war.
The employers’ organisation laid emphasis on the need to rationalise the subsidy and to direct it towards its beneficiaries, calling for speeding up digitalisation, freeing up investment, especially in the renewable energy sector, and ensuring food, health and energy sovereignty.
The UTICA affirmed willingness to collaborate with the government to implement these reforms, which are “crucial to reboot the national economy.”
An International Monetary Fund (IMF) mission led by Björn Rother visited Tunis from July 4 to July 18 to discuss potential IMF financial support for the authorities’ programme of economic policies and reforms.
In a statement issued on Tuesday, the IMF mission said that “the authorities are making important progress with their economic agenda, coordinating well across ministries and agencies around a shared vision that is sound.”
