RIYADH: Saudi Arabia will give Tunisia $400 million as a soft loan and $100 million as a grant to support the north African country’s ailing economy, the Saudi Press Agency reported on Thursday.
The financial aid, given under the directives of King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, consisted of a $400 million concessional loan deal and a memorandum of understanding linked to a $100 million grant.
The agreement was inked by Saudi Minister of Finance Mohammed Al-Jadaan and his Tunisian counterpart Siham Al-Boughdiri.
Al-Jadaan said the financial package formed part of the Kingdom’s efforts to support the development and economies of Arab and Islamic countries.
“This will support the stability and prosperity of the Tunisian economy and will help pave the way for further financial support for Tunisia from regional and international financial institutions,” Al-Jadaan said on Twitter.
He added that Saudi Arabia would continue to work toward furthering cooperation with Tunisia on several fronts, and he noted that the Kingdom had provided the north African country’s public treasury with a $500 million cash loan in 2019.
