Western Countries Yet To Fulfil Promise Of Aid To Arab Spring States: Tunisia Central Banker
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Tunisia’s central bank governor Chadli Ayari has urged Western economies to make good on their promise to provide financial aid to Arab Spring states, reported Reuters on Monday, as Middle Eastern states also prepare to raise the issue during the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) annual meeting in Tokyo later this month.
Speaking on the sidelines of an Arab central bankers’ conference in Kuwait, Ayari told reporters that several Arab economies were now struggling to cope during this major political transition.
Tunisia’s central bank governor Chadli Ayari has urged Western economies to make good on their promise to provide financial aid to Arab Spring states, reported Reuters on Monday, as Middle Eastern states also prepare to raise the issue during the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) annual meeting in Tokyo later this month.
Speaking on the sidelines of an Arab central bankers’ conference in Kuwait, Ayari told reporters that several Arab economies were now struggling to cope during this major political transition.
Ayari also questioned whether the major global economic powers were as committed to reform in the region as they said they were during the launch of the Deauville Initiative in September last year.
Under the Deauville Initiative, the Group of Eight (G-8) nations had pledged to provide $38 billion in financing to Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, Morocco and Jordan from 2011 to 2013. The IMF also promised a further $35 billion to countries affected by Arab Spring unrest.
But very little of that sum has flowed into the region thus far, says Ayari, placing the entire revolution under risk.
“Figures were launched in Deauville. Of course the problem is whether the chiefs of state which were present at that G-8 summit were really ready to commit themselves to any particular sum of money,” Ayari said.
“The Tunisians came back after the meeting (Deauville), they were euphoric, they thought the money would flow tomorrow;” but this might have been a little bit naïve, Ayari admitted.
Nevertheless, Ayari remains hopeful that up to $25 billion in financial aid can be provided to his country over the five years to help rebuild its economy following the ousting of Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali in January 2011.
[quote]”Today we need money in Tunisia. We need a lot of money in Tunisia just to get the economy on its feet. We are not getting this money,” Ayari said.[/quote]“Democracy has a price,” he added, noting that other rich Arab nations may be less inclined to provide aid to democratic revolutions as they feared political strife in their own country as well.
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“Why should they (rich Arab nations) bear the whole weight of Arab aid?”, Ayari said
“Probably they don’t like revolutions in Arab countries. How would you push them to finance revolutions?”
During the same meeting, the head of the Arab Monetary Fund Jassem al-Mannai also told participants that he would push for more pledges both regionally and globally. To date, Saudi Arabia has been the largest contributor to the Arab Spring, distributing $3.7 billion out of pledges of around $18 billion.
