TUNIS, Aug 31 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The United States has agreed to give Tunisia financial aid worth $335 million over five years to support its democratic transition, the Tunisian Development and International Cooperation Ministry said.
The aid will be financed by the US Agency for International Development (USAID).
“Aid will fund projects that encourage private initiative, create new employment opportunities for young people, and improve governance towards supporting democratic transition”, the ministry said in a statement.
Tunisia was the spark of the Arab Spring revolts that toppled a number of authoritarian regimes around North Africa and the Middle East.
Only in Tunisia, however, did a peaceful transition to democracy follow, but the country remains mired in an economic crisis that has bred discontent especially among young people.
Unemployment stands at about 15%, up from 12% in 2010, due to weak growth, low investment, and high inflation, which was 6.5% last month. Impatience is rising among lending institutions such as the International Monetary Fund that have helped keep Tunisia afloat and are pressing for economic reforms.
Separately, a Presidential Decree on the extension of the state of emergency nationwide from Sept 3 to Dec 31 was issued by the Official Gazette of the Republic of Tunisia (No. 70) on Friday.
According to the presidential decree, the President of the Republic decided to extend the state of emergency after consultation with the Prime Minister and the Speaker of the House of People’s Representatives.
Interim President Mohamed Ennaceur had decided on Aug 2 to extend the state of emergency nationwide for a period of one month, from Aug 4 to Sept 2.
The state of emergency was declared first after the Nov 24, 2015 terrorist attack on a presidential guard bus and has been continually extended since that time. — NNN-AGENCIES