IMF: Tunisia Has Asked for Financial Aid

A man counts 10 Dinar banknotes depicting the country's first woman doctor, Tawhida Ben Cheikh, in Tunis, Tunisia. (Reuters)
A man counts 10 Dinar banknotes depicting the country's first woman doctor, Tawhida Ben Cheikh, in Tunis, Tunisia. (Reuters)
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IMF: Tunisia Has Asked for Financial Aid

A man counts 10 Dinar banknotes depicting the country's first woman doctor, Tawhida Ben Cheikh, in Tunis, Tunisia. (Reuters)
A man counts 10 Dinar banknotes depicting the country's first woman doctor, Tawhida Ben Cheikh, in Tunis, Tunisia. (Reuters)

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) said it has received a request for aid from the new government in Tunisia and discussions over a new loan program have already started.

“We have recently received from Tunisia, from the authorities, a request for a new IMF-supported program,” said IMF spokesman Gerry Rice.

“We’ve always been, and will continue to be, a strong partner of Tunisia,” he told reporters

The “technical discussions” have already begun between the fund staff and Tunisian officials, centered on the government’s “economic priorities, the challenges to be met and the reforms to be implemented to overcome the crisis that the country is facing,” Rice said.

He did not provide a timetable for when the aid could be disbursed.

Tunisia’s economy has barely grown over the past decade, expanding at an average of 0.6 percent while inflation has risen at about six percent a year. The Covid-19 pandemic made the situation worse, crippling the country’s tourism industry and generally hurting businesses, according to AFP.

Tunis has received economic aid from the European Union and is seeking its fourth aid program in 10 years from the IMF, aiming to receive a nearly $4 billion loan before the end of the year.



UK Economy Shrinks 0.1% in May

The Elizabeth Tower commonly known by the name of the clock's bell "Big Ben" is pictured before race boats from the E1 World Championship race across the River Thames, in central London on July 2, 2025. (Photo by Justin TALLIS / AFP)
The Elizabeth Tower commonly known by the name of the clock's bell "Big Ben" is pictured before race boats from the E1 World Championship race across the River Thames, in central London on July 2, 2025. (Photo by Justin TALLIS / AFP)
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UK Economy Shrinks 0.1% in May

The Elizabeth Tower commonly known by the name of the clock's bell "Big Ben" is pictured before race boats from the E1 World Championship race across the River Thames, in central London on July 2, 2025. (Photo by Justin TALLIS / AFP)
The Elizabeth Tower commonly known by the name of the clock's bell "Big Ben" is pictured before race boats from the E1 World Championship race across the River Thames, in central London on July 2, 2025. (Photo by Justin TALLIS / AFP)

Britain's economic output shrank by 0.1% in May, official data showed on Friday.

Economists polled by Reuters had mostly forecast that gross domestic product would rise by 0.1% from April's level.

Britain's economy expanded rapidly in the first quarter of 2025, outstripping growth in other countries in the Group of Seven advanced economies. In May the Bank of England revised up its full-year growth forecast to 1%.

However, much of the growth in early 2025 was likely to have been linked to the expiry of a tax break for some home purchases in April which boosted the sector before the deadline, and a rush by manufacturers to beat higher US import tariffs.

The BoE has said it thinks the economy grew by about 0.25% in the second quarter of 2025.