Question to the Department for International Development:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what is their assessment of the security, economic and educational situation in Tunisia; and how the UK foreign aid budget together with the Prosperity Fund can further assist that country.

Tunisia’s security, economy and education sector are priority areas of co-operation for the UK. The Tunisian economy is growing, although this growth remains fragile and the country needs further support to ensure economic benefits reach all Tunisians. Levels of educational attainment have increased over recent years, but there remains a mismatch between skills and the needs of the private sector which the UK is working to help address. Security in Tunisia has markedly improved since the terrorist attacks of 2015: in particular, the ability of Tunisian authorities to mitigate the threat from terrorism, and to better protect foreign visitors has improved.

We are working directly and through development partners to help Tunisia deal with security threats and to address long-term challenges like youth unemployment. Bilateral spend is mainly channelled through the North Africa Good Governance Fund, with up to £14m allocated for Tunisia in 2019/20 to support economic development, education, and marginalised regions. In 2017, the last year for which figures are available, the UK’s share of multilateral organisations’ total spend in Tunisia was over £30m. The Prosperity Fund does not currently have any projects in Tunisia.