Tunis, Dec 19 (IANS): The European Investment Bank (EIB) has approved 220 million euro ($233 million) loans for Tunisia to boost its food security and electricity supply, the Tunisian Ministry of Economy and Planning said in a statement.

Two financing agreements were signed in the capital Tunis between Samir Saied, Tunisian Minister of Economy and Planning, and Lionel Rapaille, Director for Lending Operations in EU Neighbouring Countries at EIB, according to the statement released on Sunday.

The first 150-million-euro deal was signed to improve food security in Tunisia, it added.

Rapaille stressed that the financing agreement will help ensure food security in Tunisia in the face of climate change and the global crisis related to raw materials supply as a result of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, Xinhua news agency reported.

On the same occasion, Saied and Rapaille signed another agreement worth 70 million euros to finance a programme of the Tunisian Electricity and Gas Company, which aims at upgrading the company's infrastructure in order to facilitate electricity transfer and distribution.