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DEAUVILLE: French President Nicolas Sarkozy proposed to Group of Eight leaders that a $40 billion package be drawn up to support new Arab democracies, Tunisian Finance Minister Jalloul Ayed said on Friday.
It was not clear that other leaders accepted the proposal.
“What President Sarkozy announced is a total package of $40 billion for the region. This total package was not detailed by country,” the minister told a news conference during a meeting of the G8 leaders in the northern French resort of Deauville.
“Plans are being made for meetings of finance and foreign ministers, between now and the start of July, to flesh out this programme by country and by project,” he added.
The meeting of leaders from the G8 group of industrialised powers focused largely on the wave of pro-democracy protests sweeping the Arab world and Iran since the popular uprising that ousted former Tunisian ruler Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali in January.
In a statement, the G8 leaders promised financial support to help democratic transition but there was no mention of an agreed $40 billion target. The statement did announce a pledge of $20 billion or more for Tunisia and Egypt specifically.
“We are truly very satisfied with the very strong, clear and precise statements proffered by all of the G8 nations, and the financial institutions,” said Tunisia’s Ayed.
“It’s very clear that everybody wants to help us.”
