Tunis/Tunisia — Financial and technical cooperation between Tunisia and the World Bank as well as with several regional and international financial institutions took centre stage as Minister of Economy and Planning Samir Saied held a series of meetings in Marrakech.
The minister met with WB Vice President for Middle East and North Africa Ferid Belhaj, as part of his participation in the 2023 World Bank Group - IMF Annual Meetings in Morocco (October 9-15).
Action programmes in priority fields, mainly the AMEN social programme, energy transition and support for the green and circular economy and the private sector, particularly small- and medium-sized enterprises, were discussed, the ministry said.
The minister also met with the chairman of the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB), the Director-General of the Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development, the the President of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the Vice-President of the European Investment Bank.
Additional talks were held with International Finance Corporation Vice-President, a member of the German Development Bank (KfW) executive board, the Vice-President of the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency and the Director general for the Middle East and Europe Department of Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).
Means to give impetus to the various facets of financial and technical cooperation with these institutions were debated.
Means to scale up economic cooperation, particularly in investment and partnership, was the central issue as
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Samir Saied met with the Libyan Finance Minister.
Saied and members of the Tunisian delegation attended the inaugural session and the enlarged meetings of the
World Bank Group - IMF Annual Meetings in Morocco, including the African Governors Meeting and the .Arab Governors Meeting with World Bank Group President.
Debates focused on current challenges facing poor and developing countries in a context of the serious impact of climate change on economic and human development.
The minister also attended a high-level meeting on challenges and solutions to support social integration in the Middle East and North Africa.
Saied shed light on the Tunisian experience in this field and economic empowerment programmes geared towards women and youth.
These programmes seek to enourage entrepreneurship and the integration of such groups in the economy through the creation of small projects and decent jobs.
