IMF Office in TunisIa News Archive

December 8, 2019

Jérôme Vacher’s Interview with Ilboursa. (in French)  

November 7, 2019

Jérôme Vacher, IMF Resident Representative in Tunisia on the design and implementation of IMF supported programs (in French)  

Jérôme Vacher’s presentation at an IMF seminar with CSOs from the Maghreb in Rabat, Morocco

May 9, 2019

Jérôme Vacher’s presentation at Ecole Supérieure de Guerre de Tunisie  

Jérôme Vacher, IMF Resident Representative in Tunisia on the role of the IMF and in Tunisia in particular (in French)

April 9, 2018

Björn Rother's Interview with L'Economiste Maghrébin on Tunisia's Reform Priorities (in French)  

Björn Rother, IMF Mission Chief to Tunisia, explains why he remains optimistic about the Tunisian economy, despite its many challenges.

March 29, 2018

Robert Blotevogel's Interview with Jeune Afrique on the Need to Change the Economic Model (in French)  

Robert Blotevogel, IMF Representative to Tunisia, explains why Tunisia’s current economic model has reached its limits and discusses reform options that would help the Tunisian economy to live up to the expectations of the Tunisian people.

March 26, 2018

Robert Blotevogel Interview with Express FM after the Conclusion of the Second Review (in French)  

Robert Blotevogel, IMF Representative to Tunisia, explains the new modalities of the economic reform program between the IMF and the Tunisian authorities.

March 25, 2018

Björn Rother's Interview with La Presse de Tunisie on the Conclusion of the Second Review (in French)  

Björn Rother, IMF Mission Chief to Tunisia, welcomes recent progress in implementing reforms but also explains why more needs to be done after the successful conclusion of the 2nd Review of the Extended Fund Facility in March 2018.

February 6, 2018

Presentation at the Ecole Superieure de Commerce de Tunis [click here for presentation (in French)]  

I had the privilege to meet and discuss with students and faculty of the Ecole Supérieure de Commerce de Tunis (Manouba) on Tuesday February 6th. Our discussion focused on ways to stimulate the Tunisian economy to improve economic opportunity for young people. We agreed that Tunisia’s economic model based on dominant state presence and large public sectors had run its course due to binding resources constraints. The challenge today is to implement comprehensive economic reforms that allow stabilizing deficits and debt and opening the door for a new growth model driven by the private sector. The student body in particular offered many good ideas for overcoming obstacles to reform. I believe that the students’ enthusiasm, creativity and skills be an important engine of growth and jobs in the years to come.

November 27, 2017

IMF Seminar at the University of Tunis  

It was a great pleasure and also a lot of fun to exchange views with the students of economics at the University of Tunis (El Manar) on Wednesday November 22nd. We talked about the challenges ahead for the Tunisian economy and ways to create economic opportunity for all. Front and center of Tunisia’s immediate challenges are public deficits and debt, which we need to contain to avoid overburdening Tunisia’s young generation. I was impressed how knowledgably the students talked about economic reforms and the obstacles that we need to overcome to modernize the economy and create more jobs. I took away many good ideas that will help the IMF team to enrich our discussions with the Tunisian government.

November 7, 2017

Meeting with members of the Financial Commission of Tunisia’s parliament, the ARP  

We discussed Tunisia’s economic and fiscal challenges—a timely opportunity as parliament is starting to deliberate on the government’s budget proposal for next year. Specific points of the conversation included the need to reduce fiscal deficits, the best options for increasing revenue and containing spending, and the problems posed by corruption and the informal economy. We agreed that the economy needs comprehensive reform to boost growth and make it more inclusive. I also clarified questions about the role of the IMF in Tunisia, emphasizing that we have been a strong supporter of Tunisia’s transition to democracy from the beginning. I would like to thank the members of parliament for the frank and productive exchange of views, and the Parliamentary Network on the World Bank and the IMF for their help on organizing this round table discussion.