Tunisian State will not renounce its social role (President Saïed)IMF announces the start of talks with Egypt.

The Tunisian State will not renounce its social role," reiterated President of the Republic Kaïs Saïed during his meeting Wednesday with Finance Minister Sihem Nemsia and Trade Minister Kalthoum Ben Rejeb. "Those who revolted against injustice and despotism were the poor and destitute," he hammered in allusion to the bread riots of January 1984, which broke out following the lifting of subsidies on grain and by-products. "Some sides still aspire to lift these subsidies and want to deprive the needy of State support. Those sides are today nostalgic for such riots, during which hundreds of martyrs fell," he added. The Head of State considered that some are attempting to lift subsidies in various ways, underlining that "he will not stand idly by while these practices are being carried out, and that he will strive to meet the people's demands for social justice." Underscoring his commitment to social justice, the President of the Republic affirmed the need to re-establish the State's social role, to redress the situation of public enterprises and establishments, and to protect them against those who wish to destroy them." Referring to the examples of the Tunisian Siderurgy Company (El Fouladh) and the Tunisian Dairy Processing Company (STIL), Saïed underlined the need to clean up public companies and restore their rightful place in the national economy. "The goal is to achieve social justice. The State will protect those who grow rich in respect of the law, but it will be firm with those who do not accept accountability," he added. Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse Jihad Azour, Director of the Middle East and Central Asia Department at the International Monetary Fund, announced that, new talks will begin with Egypt in the coming weeks and preparations are being made for the two delayed reviews. Azour said in statements published on the Al Arabiya Business website on Thursday, that the challenges that Egypt went through in 2023 may require additional financing, pointing out that the International Monetary Fund's program with Egypt was established on the foundations of Egyptian policy that aims to maintain stability, address the problem of inflation, and protect the economy from shocks. He added, that additional financing for Egypt is one of the matters on the table, given that additional challenges require additional financing, pointing out that financing is linked to the implementation of economic reforms, their pace and speed, their positive impact on the Egyptian economy and the financing needs of the economy. "We are now in the review stage, and we are looking at all matters, including financing needs, part of which will be from the Fund and part of it from other sources." He continued He explained that the program with Egypt is medium-term and aims to raise the competitiveness of the Egyptian economy and reduce the size of the public sector in favor of the private sector, which creates more job opportunities. It also aims to address imbalances and curb inflation. Source: Libyan News Agency