From left to right: EIB Vice President Mr Román ESCOLANO, His Excellency Mr Habib ESSID Head of Government of the Tunesian Republic, and EIB President Mr Werner HOYER.
Tunisian Head of Government Habib Essid, accompanied by several ministers, visited the Bank on Friday 4th March, to discuss support for the country. It was the first time that a leader of Tunisia's government has visited the EIB.
President Hoyer and Vice-President Escolano welcomed the Head of the Tunisian Government Essid and the accompanying ministers: Minister of Local Affairs Youssef Chahed, Minister of Culture Sonia M’barek and Minister of Tourism and Handcrafts Selma Elloumi Rekik.
The Tunisian head of government highlighted the success of the democratic transition process in Tunisia, and stressed the importance of a rapid economic recovery in order to fight against radicalism and address social and economic challenges facing Tunisia. Also, He praised the role played by the EIB in supporting Tunisia during the transition and called for more EIB support.
In a statement to Tunisian television, President Hoyer said: “The EIB is the leading international financier in Tunisia and has always been present and ready to support Tunisia at critical moments in its history. Since the Jasmine Revolution in 2011, the EIB stepped up its activities and has signed new financing operations totalling 1.5 billion euros.”.
The head of the Tunisian government added: “Tunisia and the EIB have been partners for 40 years. We are very happy with this partnership. The Bank has been providing finance to many sectors, and as we discussed today, the Bank will support our projects in many sectors including those for underdeveloped regions in Tunisia."
