Thousands of people rallied in Tunis on Saturday in response to a call from the Tunisian General Labour Union (UGTT) to protest against the worsening social and economic situation.
The country experiences high inflation (around 8% annually) © Mena Today
Thousands of people rallied in Tunis on Saturday in response to a call from the Tunisian General Labour Union (UGTT) to protest against the worsening social and economic situation.
The Tunisian economy has been stagnant, with only 0.4% growth in 2023 and an unemployment rate reaching 16.4% at the end of last year, according to the National Institute of Statistics. Unemployment was at 15.2% at the end of 2022.
The country has also been shaken by political tensions since President Kais Saied seized full powers in July 2021.
Facing a severe financial crisis, Tunisia reached an agreement with the IMF for a $2 billion loan in October 2022. However, negotiations stalled when the president rejected the IMF's recommended reforms.
While the Tunisian government prioritizes debt repayment (amounting to 80% of GDP), it lacks liquidity to provide its population with sufficient basic goods, leading to recurrent shortages of flour, sugar, or rice.
The country experiences high inflation (around 8% annually) fueled by rising cereal and energy prices due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Sudan told the International Court of Justice on Thursday that the United Arab Emirates was violating the Genocide Convention by supporting paramilitary forces in Darfur, but the UAE argued the case should be thrown out as the court lacked jurisdiction.
Hundreds of Tunisians staged two protest rallies on Wednesday against what they say is the authoritarian rule of President Kais Saied and demanded the release of political prisoners, while six detained opposition figures held a hunger strike.
Egyptian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Badr Abdelatty, met on Wednesday with UAE Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, to discuss ways to enhance cooperation across political, economic, investment, and trade sectors.
To make this website run properly and to improve your experience, we use cookies. For more detailed information, please check our Cookie Policy.
Necessary cookies enable core functionality. The website cannot function properly without these cookies, and can only be disabled by changing your browser preferences.