The Algerian president was received by his Tunisian counterpart at the start of his official visit, shortly after the Algerian government announced a loan of 265 million euros

Tebboune travels to Tunisia on official visit

photo_camera AFP/HO/PRESIDENTIAL PRESS OFFICE - Abdelmadjid Tebboune and Kais Saied

In the context of renewed diplomatic activity to compensate for the break in relations with Morocco, the Algerian government has received several heads of state and high-ranking foreign officials in recent weeks. These include Italian President Sergio Mattarella and the proclaimed president of the Palestinian National Authority, Mahmoud Abbas. 

Now, with the aim of strengthening bilateral relations with the Republic of Tunisia, Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune has officially travelled to Tunisia at the invitation of his Tunisian counterpart, Kais Saied, for a two-day visit. This meeting is taking place along the lines of "strengthening the deep bonds of fraternity that unite the two brotherly peoples and broadening the areas of cooperation to a qualitative level that reflects the harmony and common will of the leaders of the two countries and their peoples," according to a statement from the Tunisian Presidency.

Tebboune was received with full honours yesterday at the Tunis-Carthage International Airport, where several high-ranking government officials were waiting for him, along with the head of government, Kais Saied. The delegation then travelled to the Presidential Palace in Carthage, where the two leaders held a round of face-to-face talks, which resulted in the signing of 27 bilateral agreements demonstrating the "convergence of visions" between the two leaders. 

"These partnership agreements cover a wide range of areas including justice, public institutions, communication, media, industry and SMEs, environment, foreign trade, culture, religious affairs, energy, vocational training, fisheries, employment, children, elderly, youth, sport, education and health," the Tunisian government said.

El presidente de Túnez, Kais Saied
A million-dollar loan

Over the last few months, meetings between the leaders of the two countries have intensified, largely due to Algeria's interest in showing its availability and solidarity with the Tunisian people. Thus, the Algerian government has worked with Tunisia to find solutions to its recent major problems: the economic crisis, the health situation related to the pandemic, and the political crisis that has worsened since last July.

Just a few days ago, Algiers announced a loan of 300 million dollars (around 265 million euros) to the Tunisian government, which is now facing what could be its worst economic crisis since independence in 1956. The country's public debt has doubled over the past ten years to nearly 30 billion euros. In fact, the situation has worsened especially since 2020 due to the impact of COVID-19 on a "fragile" economy based on small and medium-sized enterprises, as Samia Charfi Kaddour, Tunisia's economic advisor to the government, explained. 

The Algerian loan comes at a time when Tunisia is facing numerous difficulties in borrowing from abroad, as a result of the continuous downgrades of its sovereign ratings and the growth of its domestic debt.
 
A few weeks ago, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) reported that the new Tunisian government had requested a loan, the fourth loan requested by Tunisia in the last ten years. However, the international economic authority seems to have no intention of intervening in the country until it has seen the proposed solutions to the current political crisis, and considered whether these fall within what it has termed an "inclusive approach". 

El presidente argelino Abdelmadjid Tebboune
Political upheaval 

This situation is compounded by the political crisis unleashed in the country since the adoption of "extraordinary measures" by Kais Saied on 25 July. To date, the Tunisian president has decreed the dismissal of the prime minister, the indefinite suspension of parliament and the almost total freezing of the 2014 Constitution. As a result, President Saied is now in control of almost all the country's power. The move was described by the opposition, mainly the Islamist Ennahda party, as a 'coup d'État'.

Two months after the dismissal of the executive, Saied surprised the nation by appointing Najla Bouden Romdhnane, the first Tunisian woman to hold the post, as prime minister. However, this did not ease tensions in the country, where clashes between the president and his detractors continue.

Thus, Abdelmadjid Tebboune's official visit, in the midst of this political instability, coincides with the convening - on 17 December - of rallies and demonstrations by Saied's opponents. Moreover, these events also coincide with the 11th anniversary of the start of the uprisings that led to the overthrow of former President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, at the beginning of the Arab Spring.  

However, in line with the mutual support between the two leaders, Tebboune is expected to reaffirm his support for the Tunisian government, which is now facing new accusations by the members of the G7 against Kais Saied's policies, as well as the joint communiqué issued by the ambassadors of the United Kingdom, Germany, the United States and the European Union, among others, calling for "respect for freedoms" in the country. 

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