A high-level meeting was held in Tunis on Monday between the Minister of the Environment, Habib Abid, the Secretary of State for Hydraulic Resources, Hammadi Habib, and the Vice-President of the European Investment Bank (BEI), Ioannis Tsakiris.
Among the files covered include sanitation projects, the integrated depollution program of Lake Bizerte, as well as the reuse of treated wastewater, through the creation of new treatment plants.
Participants also discussed the protection of the Tunisian coast against erosion and the effects of climate change, sustainable waste management, valuation, and reforestation efforts to combat desertification and land degradation.
The director of the BEI office in Tunisia, Jean-Luc Reverel, also attended this working meeting. On this occasion, Ioannis Tsakiris reaffirmed the Bank’s commitment to support Tunisia in its environmental priorities, by providing financial support and suitable technical assistance, according to a press release published on Monday by the Ministry of the Environment.
It should be recalled that the EIB recently granted Tunisia a loan of 30 million euros (around 100 million dinars) to improve the supply of drinking water in the Grand Tunis region and strengthen the service of the capital’s financial port. Funding supports the construction of key infrastructure such as a processing station, pumping stations and tanks.
This meeting is part of the official two -day visit (April 28 and 29) of Tsakiris in Tunisia, during which he must meet several members of the government and sign up new financing agreements, with the support of the European Union. This is his second visit to the country since taking office, after participating in the Tunis investment forum in June 2024.
