Structural reforms to enhance the role of culture in national development: The Prime Minister presents to the parliament the most prominent cultural trends in the draft state budget for the year 2026
On Wednesday, November 5, 2025, the Prime Minister, Mrs. Sarah Al-Zafarani Al-Zanzari, presented before the House of People's Representatives, in the presence of the entire government team, her statement on the economic balance projects and the state budget for the year 2026, where the cultural sector represented one of the prominent axes within the strategic directions of the government aimed at making culture a key lever for comprehensive and sustainable development.
The Prime Minister stressed that the year 2025 has been characterized by strengthening efforts aimed at preserving and valuing national heritage, stimulating investment in the cultural field, and supporting Tunisia's radiation locally and internationally, noting that the year 2026 will witness the launch of deep structural reforms aimed at protecting heritage and ensuring the sustainability of the cultural structure through the review of the Code for the Protection of Heritage and the updating of the relevant laws to include tangible and intangible heritage.
Within the framework of supporting the cultural and creative economy, the Prime Minister stressed that work will continue to encourage investment in cultural and creative industries, while developing mechanisms for technical accompaniment for emerging and innovative projects, and reviewing the terms of reference and the regulatory texts regulating copyright and related rights, in a way that contributes to enhancing the role of the National Institution for Copyright and Related Rights in protecting innovators and supporting the intellectual property system.
She also stressed the importance of consolidating the culture of proximity through programmes aimed at vulnerable groups, including mobile and model libraries, and the provision of cultural services within correctional centres, prisons, hospitals, nursing homes and rural schools, in order to embody the principle of equal opportunities and guarantee the right to culture for all.
In a related context, the Prime Minister attached special importance to the development of the digital cultural economy during the year 2026, by supporting the digital transformation of cultural institutions and activating the interactive digital platform for culture as a space for marketing and promoting artistic and creative products nationally and internationally. The Tunis International Centre for the Digital Cultural Economy will also continue to support the Tunis International Centre for the Digital Cultural Economy to play its role as a think tank and implement digital projects, through the establishment of a mobile laboratory and the acquisition of audio-visual equipment and means of transportation that will enable it to perform its development tasks locally and regionally.
In this way, the draft state budget for the year 2026 translates the government's vision to make culture a key pillar of the national economy, and a field for investment, innovation, and the promotion of identity and belonging.