Tunisia faces steep economic losses and agricultural job cuts from unaddressed water scarcity, World Bank says

Tunisia is on track to incur economic losses equivalent to 6.4% of GDP by 2050 if water scarcity goes unaddressed, according to the World Bank’s latest Tunisia Economic Monitor. At least 30% of agricultural jobs could be eliminated due to water and climate stress, impacting agricultural output, agro-processing and extending to other water-dependent sectors, the report says.

Tunisia’s renewable freshwater annual output of 380 cbm per capita is well below the international threshold for absolute water scarcity, the report says. Rising pressure on limited resources due to climate change and higher demand is further expected. This summer has already been challenging for Tunisians as they faced power and water shortages because of unprecedented heat and structural deficiencies within the public sector, as we previously reported. Worn down public utilities already cause physical water losses to reach 50% in Tunisia and Algeria, Kumulus Water co-founder and CEO Iheb Triki told us.

How to turn back the clock: The World Bank recommends that the Tunisia government focuses on long-term planning in addition to mitigation risks, citing Plan Eau 2050, which envisions about USD 900 in infrastructure investments per year and measures to strengthen water governance including reforming the legal framework surrounding water production and usage.

A seat at the table

Libya wants to take over Africa’s rotating seat at the UN Security Council for the 2028-29 term, Chairman of the Presidential Council Mohamed Al Menfi said during UN General Assembly meetings in New York. The bid would put Tripoli in position to succeed Somalia, one of the two African states currently holding a non-permanent seat, once that seat is up for renewal.

Libya’s policy pitch: Al Menfi condemned violence across the MENA and the Sahel, expressed support for Saudi Arabia following recent attacks, and pressed the case for reconstruction investment. “We want States to compete in Libya on investment, reconstruction, energy, technology and development — not for influence within its institutions,” he said. He also called for Mediterranean basin cooperation to move beyond crisis and migration management toward development, trade, investment, and energy transition.

Checking in

The GCC and North Africa have USD 90 bn worth of hotels and resorts in the pipeline, with 200k new rooms set to expand existing regional supply by 27%, according to global hospitality consultancy HVS data. More than 55% of the planned hotels in the region are expected to be delivered between now and 2030, and around 44% of rooms are currently under construction with the remainder expected to be completed through 2030 and beyond.

Saudi Arabia leads the investment drive with more than half the share of planned rooms (about 110k rooms) under construction across Riyadh, Makkah, Madinah, Diriyah, NEOM, the Red Sea and AMAALA. Egypt ranks second with around 42k rooms across Cairo, the North Coast, the Red Sea and emerging mixed-use destinations. The UAE follows with new destination-led projects particularly in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Ras Al Khaimah.

Thinking small

Turkey is laying the groundwork for US-designed small modular reactors in its power grid. Turkey’s state-owned Nuclear Energy Company (TÜNAŞ) and the US Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) have signed a USD 2 mn agreement that will let TÜNAŞ assess US-designed reactor technologies, according to a USTDA statement. The agreement also entails building the technical, regulatory, and financial roadmaps needed to integrate small modular reactors and fourth-generation reactors into the grid for private-sector deployment.

The agreement builds on the Strategic Civil Nuclear Cooperation MoU the two governments signed in September 2025 — a diplomatic framework the US State Department uses to expand civil nuclear relationships, improve technical capacity, and foster long-term commercial ties.

Data point

USD 10.8 bn — that’s the value of Iraq’s trade surplus in 1Q 2026, driven almost entirely by crude oil exports. Crude exports recorded USD 18.6 bn, while imports recorded USD 8.7 bn (excluding freight and ins.). The current account remained in surplus at about USD 8 bn during the quarter.