The Vice President of World Bank’s Middle East and North Africa (MENA) division, Hafez Ghanem, announced on March 16 that the institution intends to grant Tunisia $4 billion to restart its economy after political transition that followed overthrowing of Ben Ali in 2011.

“World Bank should grant Tunisia between 750 million and 1 billion dollars each year as part of its aid program which aims to mobilize $20 billion over 5 years for MENA countries,” he said, cited by Tunisian official agency TAP.

“Our goal is to mobilize $4 billion for Tunisia,” he added highlighting that “the sum is greater than the country’s economic weight in the region”.

Ghanem also said the financing is proof of how important World Bank regards achieving economic development in Tunisia.

Tunisia ended its transition but struggles to restart its economy amid social protests and security troubles arise as jihadist movement attacked repeatedly over the past year.