Announcement of Consultative Group for Tunisia on May 8, 1968

• 1818 H STREET, N.W .• WASHINGTON D. C. 20433 TELEPHONE: EXECUTIVE 3-6360 May 8, 1968 Subject: Consultative Group for Tunisi~ The following announcement was issued today at the World Bank's European Office in Paris: "The consultative group en development assistance to Tunisia met in Paris on May 7 - 8, 1968, under the chairmanship of the World Bank. The following countrien wer.e represented: Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Kuwait, Libya, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States. Representatives of the International Monetary Fund, the:United Nations Development Programme, the African Development Bank and the Eu-rppean Investment Bank were also present. The delegation from Tunisia was headed • t,y Mr •. Ahmed Ben Salah, Secretary of State for Planning and Nat:tonal Economy, and1 also included Mr. Abderrazak Rassaa, Under-Secretary of State for Finance and De- velopment, Mr. Sadak Bahroun, Dfrector General of the Plan, Mr. Bechir Ennagi, Director of Economic Cooperation, and Mr. Hedi Ennifer, Director, Central Bank of Tunisia. "The group discussed reports on the sta~e of the Tunisian economy and its prospects, prepared by the Gc)vernment of Tunisia and ~h~ World Bank. It was note~ with satisfaction that 1968 can be expected to be more favorable than the two pre- ceding years, on account of better harvests, continued development of tourism and a ~ustained inflow of foreign assistance. The consensus was that Tunisia, by its commendable efforts, tho1:oughly deserves the assistance of the aid-giving ccmntrie.t; and that m~etings of the consultative group were useful for tht~ various bilateral • and multilateral programs. It was tentatively agreed that the next meeting of the group would focus on the next Four-Year Development Plan of Tunisia (1969-1972) ~ntl that the meeting would be held as early as practicable, after publication of t. he Plan and time to review it. 11