18 November 2008
Tunis — President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali received on Tuesday Mr Dominique Strauss Kahn, the Director General of the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The meeting focused on the situation of the Tunisian economy and the Maghrebi economic integration.
Following the meeting, the Director General of the IMF, declared that in the aftermath of his participation in Libya to the meeting of Maghrebi States, within the framework of the conferences dedicated to the economic integration of the Arab Maghreb, he had decided to come to Tunisia to meet with President Ben Ali, as well as with senior economic officials in the private and public sectors "to say two things".
The first point is that the Tunisian economy is in good health in spite of the world crisis. He said in this respect that "I am expecting a strong economic growth in Tunisia this year; the economic policy adopted here is a healthy one and represents the best model to follow for many emerging nations such as Tunisia".
He added that "The IMF's opinion on Tunisia's economic policy is very positive, we have no fears for the following year, even at the world scale things are not going to be easy. In Tunisia things are working normally".
The second point he added, concerns the necessity of working towards Maghrebi economic integration, stressing the importance of bringing economies closer together.
Mr Strauss Kahn evoked in this respect, 'the rapprochement' process between Tunisia and Libya and the importance of further progressing on this path at the scale of the Maghreb, which he said, is the best protection against the consequences of external crises.
On this occasion, President Ben Ali decorated Mr Dominique Strauss Kahn with the insignia of Grand Officer of the Order of the Republic in token of his intellectual qualities and his contribution to the strengthening of economic development on the world scale, and especially for his call towards a better integration of the Mediterranean area, and his belief in the aspirations peoples for stability, peace and prosperity.
The meeting was attended by the Minister of State, Special Advisor to the President of the Republic and Official Spokesman of the Presidency of the Republic.
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