Multilateral lenders and Western governments shower Tunisia with credit in the hope the country does not go the way of neighbouring Libya or Egypt
The World Bank became the latest lender to signal its support for the interim government in Tunis when it lent it US$100 million last week to help banks to lend to small businesses. Since the end of February, the Bank has made loan agreements worth $1.2 billion, with few limits on the way the money is used. After the assassination of leading left-wing politicians Chokri Belaïd and Mohamed Brahmi last year, Tunisia fell into turmoil, culminating in the removal in December of the elected government of the Islamist Ennahda movement (AC Vol 54 No 4, Answers needed). In its place, a technocratic cabinet led by an independent, Mehdi Jomaa, was installed (AC Vol 54 No 5, Splits prolong crisis).
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