Tunisia’s foreign currency reserves have risen to 22.3 billion dinars ($7.7 billion), the equivalent of 131 days of imports, official figures showed on Thursday, benefiting from about $1 billion of recent loans and aid to counter the effects of the coronavirus.
Foreign exchange reserves were 14.3 billion dinars a year ago, equal to only 83 days of imports, the central bank said.
Tunisia secured a $745 million loan from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) last week to help mitigate the economic blow from the coronavirus outbreak.
The North African state has also received $275 million of financial aid from the European Union.
Meanwhile, the Tunisian Union for Commerce, Industry, and Handicrafts (UTICA), which represents companies and institutions in Tunisia’s private sector, has stressed the need for the gradual return to work.
In a statement on Wednesday, UTICA said companies shall provide all safety and health conditions to protect their employees in return for their return to work.
It is noteworthy that most of the private sector plants, restaurants, cafes, and major commercial spaces have been closed since the announcement of a general lockdown on March 22 to prevent the spread of the new coronavirus.
UTICA announced it will pay April’s wages following an agreement with the Tunisian General Labor Union (UGTT), provided that wages paid since March be deducted from the employees' annual leases or considered as loans to be paid later by working overtime.
Tunisia’s vital tourism sector could lose $1.4 billion and 400,000 jobs this year due to the pandemic.
The government has earlier announced allocating 2.5 billion dinars ($850 million) to contain the economic and social effects of the coronavirus health crisis, preserve jobs and protect the institutions.
The government also announced it would allow institutions to postpone payment of taxes and allocations to social funds for a period of three months.
It also financially supported a fund allocated for technical unemployment by 300 million dinars (about $104 million).
