Political Crisis and Economic Reform Prospects in Tunisia after July 25

Tue. November 30th, 2021
Live on YouTube and Facebook

On 25 July, president Kais Saied suspended the parliament and dismissed the government invoking the “imminent danger” mentioned in the article 80 of the constitution. In the absence of a constitutional court, this move plunged Tunisia into a political crisis that is threatening to collapse its fragile economy. This political stalemate has considerably disrupted the negotiations with the IMF upon a new multiyear agreement which had stalled because of disagreement on how to reduce the public sector wage bill and the role of State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) among other issues. As a consequence, debt sustainability remains highly at risk and dependent on a long-awaited structural reform.

To what extent the current political crisis could threaten the prospects of economic recovery? Would the new government be able to address the fiscal crisis and elaborate policies that could address people needs and expectations? What’s the role of IFIs and international community to help address Tunisia’s economic woes? How can Tunisia create a new economic model that would put social justice at its core?

Join us Tuesday, November 30 from 4:00 until 5:30 p.m. Beirut time for a public panel with Amr Adly, Rym Ayadi, Ishac Diwan, Hamza Meddeb and Jérôme Vacher to discuss Tunisia's worsening economic crisis. 

The discussion will be held in English. Viewers may submit their questions for the panelists using the Live Chat feature on Facebook and YouTube during the event.

For more information, please contact Josiane Matar at josiane.matar@carnegie-mec.org.

event speakers

Amr Adly

Nonresident Scholar, Middle East Center

Adly is a nonresident scholar at the Carnegie Middle East Center, where his research centers on political economy, development studies, and economic sociology of the Middle East, with a focus on Egypt.

Rym Ayadi

Rym Ayadi is an Economist and International Expert on Inclusive and Sustainable Socio-economic Models, Financial Architecture and Stability and Sustainable Finance.

Ishac Diwan

Ishac Diwan is the research director at Finance for Development Lab (FDL) at the Paris School of Economics.

Hamza Meddeb

Fellow, Malcolm H. Kerr Carnegie Middle East Center

Hamza Meddeb is a research fellow at the Malcolm H. Kerr Carnegie Middle East Center in Beirut, where he co-leads the Political Economy Program

Jérôme Vacher

Jérôme Vacher is the IMF Resident Representative in Tunis.