Tunisia must speed up the establishment of a clear economic reform plan involving all national partners

The board of directors of the Central Bank of Tunisia (BCT) at the end of its meeting of December 30, 2021 noted that over 11 months at the end of November 2021 the strong increase in transfers from the diaspora (+ 32%) and the relative tourism receipts (+ 6.6%) contribute to the reduction of the current account deficit from 5.9 to 5.4% in one year, despite a 25.6% increase in the trade deficit.

The latter is attributable to the decline in olive oil sales, the relative recovery in economic activity, and soaring energy prices. In this context, the Council observed a stability in the level of reserves at 23.3 billion TND or 136 days of imports as of December 29, 2021.

On the other hand, the Council notes that the rise in inflation is continuing.

In this context, the Council underlined that the situation requires the continuation of the close monitoring of the sources of inflation and in particular insisted on the need to continue the coordination between budgetary and monetary policies in order to avoid the monetary financing of the budget. , given its impact on inflation.

He also underlined the need to accelerate the establishment of a clear plan of economic reforms involving all national partners, able to restore the confidence of donors and investors in the Tunisian economy and stressed the need to continue coordination with the Government to reach an agreement with the IMF.