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Arab Monetary Fund to Provide Loans to Morocco, Tunisia

Arab Monetary Fund to Provide Loans to Morocco, Tunisia
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Arab Monetary Fund to Provide Loans to Morocco, Tunisia

Arab Monetary Fund to Provide Loans to Morocco, Tunisia

The Arab Monetary Fund has agreed to provide loans of USD211 million to Morocco and USD98 million to Tunisia to help the North African countries deal with the coronavirus crisis. Both Morocco and Tunisia rely heavily on the hard-hit tourism sector as a source of hard currency.

The United Arab Emirates’ state news agency WAM reported that the agreement was signed by Mohamed Benchaaboun, Minister of Economy, Finance, and Administration Reform, on behalf of Morocco, and Dr. Abdulrahman al-Hamidy, Director-General Chairman of the Board of Executive Directors of the AMF.

Two weeks ago, the AMF announced that it had extended a USD127 million automatic loan to Morocco. The loan is part of an agreement signed on May 7 that is meant to “provide financial support to strengthen the Kingdom’s financial position and meet emergency needs.”

As for the Tunisian loan, it was signed by Dr. Marwan Abbasi, Governor of the Central Bank of Tunisia, and by Dr. Abdulrahman al-Hamidi, Director-General and Chairman of the AMF.

The AMF had extended a new automatic loan to Tunisia, with the amount of USD59 million with the aim to provide financial support to strengthen the country’s financial position and meet emergency needs.

The AMF is currently looking into financing requests from other member countries, and is processing the requests through expeditious procedures, in order to provide support as quickly as possible, so that the borrowing member countries can meet financing needs and enhance their financial positions to face various challenges, especially during such times.

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UK Treasury Chief Heading to China to Revive Suspended Economic, Financial Talks

FILE PHOTO: Chancellor Rachel Reeves speaks to the media after a tour of Maidstone Hospital on December 10, 2024 in Maidstone, Britain. Dan Kitwood/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Chancellor Rachel Reeves speaks to the media after a tour of Maidstone Hospital on December 10, 2024 in Maidstone, Britain. Dan Kitwood/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo
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UK Treasury Chief Heading to China to Revive Suspended Economic, Financial Talks

FILE PHOTO: Chancellor Rachel Reeves speaks to the media after a tour of Maidstone Hospital on December 10, 2024 in Maidstone, Britain. Dan Kitwood/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Chancellor Rachel Reeves speaks to the media after a tour of Maidstone Hospital on December 10, 2024 in Maidstone, Britain. Dan Kitwood/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo

Britain's Treasury chief is travelling to China this weekend to discuss economic and financial cooperation between the countries, as the UK's Labour government seeks to reset strained ties with Beijing.
The Treasury said Friday that Rachel Reeves will travel to Beijing and Shanghai and will meet with her Chinese government counterpart, Vice Premier He Lifeng, Reuters reported.
Reeves' trip is expected to revive the China-UK Economic and Financial Dialogue — annual bilateral talks that have been suspended since 2019 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and deteriorating relations in recent years.
A series of spying allegations from both sides, China’s support for Russia in the Ukraine war and a crackdown on civil liberties in Hong Kong, a former British colony, have soured ties.
Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey and the UK Financial Conduct Authority's chief executive, Nikhil Rathi, are also in the delegation, according to the Treasury. Representatives from some of Britain’s biggest financial services firms will join the trip.
Officials did not provide details, but media reports have said senior executives from HSBC Holdings and Standard Chartered were included.
Reeves' visit comes after Foreign Secretary David Lammy travelled to China in October and Prime Minister Keir Starmer met with Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Brazil in November.
The meetings form part of a bid by Starmer, who was elected as leader in July, to strengthen political and economic ties with China, the UK's fifth-largest trading partner.
Officials said Starmer wanted a “pragmatic” approach to working with Beijing on global stability, climate change and the transition to clean energy.
But some in the opposition Conservative Party have criticized his stance and said trade ties should not come at the expense of national security and human rights concerns.
British political leaders and intelligence chiefs have warned repeatedly of the security threats that China poses. Calls to tackle the challenge grew louder last month when it emerged that an alleged Chinese spy had cultivated close ties with Prince Andrew and carried out “covert and deceptive activity” for China's ruling Communist Party, according to officials.
Nevertheless, Lammy told reporters in London on Thursday that “there are many areas of trade that don’t impact on national security.”
He said Reeves “will repeat many of the messages that I took to China.”
“What we’ve said is in this complex relationship with a global superpower, we are guided by three Cs”: challenge, compete and cooperate, for example in areas including health and climate challenges, Lammy added.