1 May 2020; MEMO: The Tunisian Parliament postponed a plenary session scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday to deliberate a set of draft agreements, including two agreements with Turkey and Qatar, to a later date at the request of the government.
The first agreement to be signed by the Tunisian government and the Qatar Fund for Development (QFFD) allows the fund to open an office in Tunisia, while the second accord, which will be concluded with Turkey, is designated to encourage and protect mutual investment between the two countries.
Parliament attributed the reason for postponing the session to urgent obligations preventing members of the government concerned with the two agreements to join the deliberations on that date, announcing that the discussion of both accords will be delayed to subsequent parliamentary sessions.
Reports stated that the real reason behind the delay was the strong rejection expressed by the Free Destourian Party, led by Abir Moussi, and the Tahya Tounes Party, led by Youssef Chahed. Both opposition parties have allegedly been suspected of supporting the United Arab Emirates and receiving funds from the Emirati government.
