Tunisia has repaid all its 2023 domestic and external debts despite all public finance constraints in 2023 and the difficulty to access foreign funding," Finance Minister Sihem Nemsia said on Monday. "In 2023, public finances faced major challenges due to a very tense regional and international context and an exacerbation of climate change, leading to a rise in inflation rates and in the prices of staple commodities on a global scale," she added at the opening of a debate on "2024 Finance Law and new tax provisions" held on Monday in Tunis by the Tunisia Council of Joint Chambers (CCM). "All these constraints have had a major impact on Tunisia's financial balance, sharply reducing the authorities' room for manoeuvre in controlling debt levels and meeting essential and sometimes unpredictable public expenditure, despite the good results achieved in raising tax resources and improving the performance of some sectors (services, tourism, etc.)," she pointed out. Nemsia indicated that "the Tunisian project of major reforms is a global project characterised by a balanced vision between a social component placing the middle class and vulnerable groups among its top priorities, and an economic component aimed at rewarding work and boosting private initiative and wealth creation." The Finance Law 2024 fits in with this approach and seeks to ensure a balance between two fundamental challenges: Reboot the economy and restore the investor's confidence, and gradually rebalance public finances by encouraging comprehensive and sustainable development, combating the financial exclusion of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), establishing a system that enshrines tax justice, combating tax evasion and integrating the informal economy. This law seeks to "maximise tax benefites by gearing them towards promising sectors such as renewables, green, blue and circular economies and sustainable development." "It also aims to further enshrine the social role of the State by supporting the financial inclusion of vulnerable and low-income groups, guaranteeing the supply of staple commodities to the market and adopting alternative instruments to finance subsidy expenditure," she said. "The 2024 Finance Law also provides for a number of measures to support the agriculture, fisheries and water resources sector, by continuing to support small farmers, facilitating their access to financing and reducing the tax burden on certain fodder products," Nemsia underlined. However, this law failed to provide measures to remove tax benefits granted to economic operators or to increase the tax burden, the FinMin considered, adding that "Quite the contrary, it has introduced a range of measures aimed at supporting companies in order to preserve their survival, support their restructuring, improve their cash flow, ease their access to finance and encourage private initiative." Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse Ethiopia is working based on the principle of shared development and mutual benefits in the region, Ethiopia's ambassadors in Kenya, Somalia and Djibouti remarked. The latest agreement between Ethiopia and Somaliland was conducted with the principle of "give and take" and shared development, the ambassadors told the Ethiopian News Agency. Ethiopia's ambassador to Kenya, Bacha Debele, said that his country is making extra efforts to ensure sustainable peace and shared prosperity across the region and beyond. In particular, he appreciated the practical work being done in creating infrastructure and trade ties with neighboring countries, and explained that any infrastructure or other joint development projects will be implemented based on the country's foreign policy that prioritizes neighboring countries. The ambassador pointed out that Ethiopia has been carrying out cooperation with its neighbors based on the country's foreign policy. He further stated that the MoU signed by Ethiopia with Somaliland to o btain a sea port is based on mutual development and benefits and follows the principle of give and take. This is where Ethiopia's policy of collaborative development initiated, he said, adding that Ethiopia bases a lot of its diplomatic efforts on the shared development premise. ' Developing together is the principal idea of our policy. Ethiopia's principle of shared development is one of the pillars of its diplomatic activities. Different things can be taken as an example in this regard. We can cite the Lamu Port South Sudan - Ethiopia Transport (LAPSSET) Corridor that will bring the region together and ensure the regional cooperation. It will even cover the Western countries if a railway is built, starting from Kenya, Ethiopia, South Sudan, then Uganda. It plays a fundamental role in the fight against poverty together and makes a great contribution,' he said. Ethiopia's Ambassador to Somalia, Mukhtar Mohamed on his part said that Ethiopia is working with neighboring countries to support its desire to p rosper together. The ambassador mentioned that Ethiopia has been exerting efforts to make regional integration a reality and carrying out development works that benefit neighboring countries. For instance, he said that the Galmudug city of Somalia has submitted a request to benefit from electricity service from Ethiopia and stated that the request has been viewed positively by the government of Ethiopia. 'The recent MoU signed with Somaliland is based on mutual benefit and the historical, natural, geographical and cultural ties between the peoples in the region. This connection is natural. It is not something we are talking about today. It is a fact that cannot be broken by political arguments or pressure from elites. Instead we must be able to build on this.' The ambassador said such agreements would help to ensure mutual benefit, shared prosperity and development. It requires generosity, foresight and sincerity. By doing this, Ethiopia will not harm anyone, but it is a way of showing commitment to grow together. Ethiopia's ambassador to Djibouti, Berhanu Tsegaye, said that the friendship between Ethiopia and Djibouti, which has been going on for more than 100 years, has been strengthened through mutual development and benefit. He explained that the two countries are working more closely on the principle of mutual benefit in roads, railways, ports, water, electricity and other sectors. The MoU signed recently between Ethiopia and Somaliland is based on this principle. 'We are working to ensure economic benefit of others by giving what we have to those who do not have it. For example, when we give potable water to Djibouti, Djibouti provides us with the things that we need. This in turn ensures the mutual benefits of the two which must be further fostered," the ambassador said. Source: Ethiopian News Agency