Tunisia's Saied praises brotherly countries for funding and security support 

Tunisian President Kais Saied praised brotherly and friendly countries, which he did not name, for the support they provided to the country at the security and economic levels.

This came eight days after he took exceptional measures including dismissing the prime minister and freezing parliament, assuming the executive authority himself.

The Tunisian President also decided to freeze the activities of Parliament for a period of 30 days, lift the immunity of deputies, and head the Public Prosecution.

On Sunday Saied met with the Governor of the  Central Bank of Tunisia, Marouane El-Abbasi, and praised the “sincere position of brotherly and friendly countries in support of Tunisia to bridge the financial imbalances and help Tunisia fulfil its internal and external financial obligations.”

“We have honest brothers and friends who stand by us in all fields, especially in the security and the economy fields, and the moment will come to announce this historic backing from our brothers and friends.”

READ: Tunisia’s instability and coup are backed by the UAE, Saudi

He continued: “Our brothers and friends spared no effort in endorsing the Tunisian people during the historical moments we are facing.”

Tunisia is witnessing an unprecedented economic crisis, with the economy shrinking by 8.8 per cent last year due to the repercussions of the coronavirus pandemic. The country needs to borrow $7.2 billion, including about $5 billion in the form of external loans.

The President said that he took his exceptional measures based on Article 80 of the constitution to “save the Tunisian state,” on the day that witnessed popular protests demanding the overthrow of the entire ruling system, while accusing the opposition of failing to play its role, in light of the ongoing political, economic and health crises.