Tunisia’s President Kais Saied staked out his opposition to spending cuts and making other policy changes necessary to secure a bailout from the International Monetary Fund, striking a defiant tone at a rare meeting with the lender’s boss despite his country’s dire finances.
(Bloomberg) — Tunisia’s President Kais Saied staked out his opposition to spending cuts and making other policy changes necessary to secure a bailout from the International Monetary Fund, striking a defiant tone at a rare meeting with the lender’s boss despite his country’s dire finances.
At talks held late on Thursday with IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva, Saied “made it clear” that the fund’s “prescriptions to provide financial support to Tunisia are unacceptable because it would affect civil peace, which is priceless,” his cabinet said in a statement.
The encounter on the sidelines of a conference in Paris risks delaying further assistance from the IMF even though Saied previously expressed criticism of what he calls foreign “diktats” that could further impoverish the country. Saied is under pressure to deliver on measures such as slimming down a bloated public sector as well as revamping subsidies and the tax system to make Tunisia’s debt burden more sustainable.
Tunisia reached a $1.9 billion IMF deal last October, but the agreement has yet to be reviewed for approval by the fund’s directors. A breakthrough hinges on additional support from Tunisia’s allies and the government’s implementation of measures that are required to access funds.
The message to Georgieva included a reference to deadly bread riots that hit Tunisia in the 1980s after authorities reformed subsidies on wheat. The president “will not accept that a single drop of blood is shed,” his cabinet said in the statement.
Saied also invited Georgieva to visit Tunisia and she welcomed the offer, according to the statement. The presidency said it would set a date for the visit.
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