TUNIS - Finance Ministers of G8 countries met on Saturday, in Marseilles, France, to review their strategy of financial assistance to the "Arab Spring" countries, with the participation of Tunisia, Egypt, Morocco, Jordan and Libya.
According to international news agencies, the G8 ministers are set to promise to pay 38 billion dollars to Tunisia, Egypt, Morocco and Jordan before 2013.
This financial assistance aims to back up the democratic reform process in the "Arab Spring" countries, in addition to the funding made available by the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
Financial aid is also to be provided by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development in Europe (EBRD) and the European Investment Bank (EIB), as well as by individual countries like Turkey and the Gulf countries.
Tunisia was represented in this meeting by Finance Minister Jalloul Ayed. Tunisia's five-year programme of economic and financial vitalisation, already presented at the Deauville G8 Summit, last May 26-27, estimated the country's needs at 125 billion dollars, including 25 billion dinars of foreign funding.
This programme aims basically to carry out infrastructure projects in order to open up inland regions, pour funds into small- and medium-sized firms and create jobs.
© Tunis-Afrique Presse 2011
