TUNIS  - The African Development Bank has allocated $500 million in loans for Tunisia in 2019, the AFDB president said on Friday.

Akinwumi Adesina told Express Fm radio that the bank would support Tunisia in the fields of energy, education, infrastructure, communications and technology.

The government needs around $2.5 billion in external financing in 2019, officials said.

Tunisia’s parliament said on Thursday it had rejected a government plan to issue up to $800 million in bonds this year, dealing a blow to the government which is seeking to secure funding to cover the country’s fiscal budget deficit.

 

(Reporting by Tarek Amara; editing by Mark Heinrich and Jason Neely) ((tarek.amara@thomsonreuters.com;))