Tunisian authorities are gearing up for talks with the International Monetary Fund that is set to hold a series of virtual meetings with the government in Tunis from Monday.
“I can confirm that there would be an IMF mission February 14th to 22nd,” IMF spokesman Gerry Rice said at a press briefing when asked about the meeting.
“I can confirm the status of that mission would be virtual and where we are on Tunisia is the Tunisian authorities in the latter part of last year sent a letter to the IMF requesting a new fund supported program,” he said.
“So, over the past several months, IMF staff and the Tunisian authorities have held technical discussions, focusing on the immediate economic challenges, the country’s priorities and the reforms to be implemented in order to overcome the crisis in the country,” he added.
As part of the new negotiations, the IMF staff mission is expected to hold virtual meetings with the Ministers of Finance and of Economy and Planning, the Governor of the Central Bank of Tunisia and other ministers whose departments are concerned by the reforms to be implemented, the Tunisian news agency (TAP), reported.
This virtual visit was announced a few days after the regular meeting of the Central Bank's executive board, during which the members expressed concern about the delay in raising the external resources needed to finance the state budget, it said.
