Abdel Karim Lassoud, Director General of Finance and External Payments at the Central Bank of Tunisia, revealed "very advanced" negotiations with Saudi Arabia and the UAE to finance the state's resources, which suffer from severe shortages.

He said - in statements to the local "Shams FM" radio, that the door will be opened to mobilize the state's resources through international cooperation, and he talked about the existence of "very advanced" discussions with both the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the UAE in order to mobilize state resources, in addition to the need to develop bilateral cooperation with Algeria.

He also assured Soud that Tunisia's reaching an agreement with the International Monetary Fund is the first solution to introduce important reforms to the Tunisian economy.

With regard to wages, he said that there is no room for fear over wages, noting that "the wages of the current month (October) are available, and for the next two months, work is underway to provide them."

The Director of Finance and External Payments at the Central Bank indicated that "the government and the bank are working hard to provide the needs during the remainder of the current year."

rating and warning

Yesterday, Thursday, Moody's credit rating downgraded Tunisia's sovereign rating from B3 to CAA1 with a negative outlook.

The agency said, in a report, that the downgrade to "CAA1" reflects weak governance and increased uncertainty regarding the government's ability to implement measures that will ensure renewed access to financing, to meet the high needs over the next few years.

This is the tenth time that Tunisia's sovereign rating has been downgraded by international rating agencies, since 2011.

Moody's has warned that Tunisia will default on its debt if significant financing is not secured.

She explained that the negative outlook for Tunisia's credit position reflects the downside risks related to possible prolonged delays in reforms and reform-dependent financing, which would lead to the erosion of foreign currency reserves.

They reject the decisions of President Kais Saied (French)

political crisis

Since last July 25, the country has been experiencing a severe political crisis, when President Qais Saied began a series of exceptional decisions, including freezing the competencies of Parliament, lifting the immunity of its deputies, abolishing the constitutionality monitoring body for laws, issuing legislation by presidential decrees, headed by the Public Prosecution, and dismissing the Prime Minister.

The majority of political forces rejected these decisions and considered them a coup against the constitution, but other forces supported them and saw them as a correction to the course of the 2011 revolution, in light of the political, economic and health crises (the Corona pandemic).

And last Monday, the formation of the new government, which included 24 ministerial portfolios, was announced, headed by Najla Boden, who was assigned the position by Saeed on September 29.