Watan-The Tunisian Parliament banned the Qatar Development Fund from opening a branch in Tunisia, which is facing financial constraints.<\/p>\n
According to Bloomberg, this move constitutes a potential setback to efforts to revitalize the economy and avoid default.<\/p>\n
Legislators allied with President Kais Saied stood against the proposal for the fund, managed by Qatar, to open a branch in Tunisia.<\/p>\n
Approval was crucial for the rapid release of around $150 million in immediate funding and paving the way for additional support from Qatar.<\/p>\n
Opponents of the proposed offer described it as “loaded” and threatening national sovereignty, conflicting with Saied’s declared policy of self-reliance.<\/p>\n
Others linked it to alleged Qatari support for the Ennahda Movement, some of whose members have been imprisoned since Saied assumed greater powers in 2021.<\/p>\n
Economically, Tunisia, grappling with slowed economic growth and high youth unemployment rates, struggles to reconcile its debt obligations with the need for public investment.<\/p>\n
After a stalled $1.9 billion rescue deal with the International Monetary Fund, authorities are increasingly likely to turn to Arab states to meet financing needs estimated at around 28 billion dinars ($9 billion) this year.<\/p>\n
Mark Bohlund, Senior Credit Research Analyst at REDD Intelligence, stated that the rejection is a “setback” but may be part of the regular ebb and flow in Qatari-Tunisian relations since the Arab Spring revolutions in 2011.<\/p>\n
He added that Tunisia’s strong relations with Algeria and Saudi Arabia make them possible alternative sources of funding.<\/p>\n
The value of Tunisian dollar bonds has risen since November, but the spread between these bonds and U.S. Treasury bonds still approaches 1000 basis points, a level considered by many traders as a sign of deterioration.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Watan-The Tunisian Parliament banned the Qatar Development Fund from opening a branch in Tunisia, which is facing financial constraints. According to Bloomberg, this move constitutes a potential setback to efforts to revitalize the economy and avoid default. Legislators allied with President Kais Saied stood against the proposal for the fund, managed by Qatar, to open …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":8507,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[2734,2735,2733],"class_list":["post-8506","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-the-financial-crisis","tag-the-qatar-development-fund","tag-the-tunisian-parliament"],"yoast_head":"\n