Tunisia’s President Kais Saied has proposed taxing the country’s wealthiest citizens to avoid the “foreign diktats” of the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Despite reaching an agreement in principle last October on a bailout package worth nearly $2bn, talks with the IMF have stalled for months over demands to restructure public bodies and lift subsidies on basic goods.

During a meeting with the Head of Government Najla Bouden on Thursday, Saied floated the idea of “taking surplus money from the rich to give to the poor”, citing a quote attributed to Omar Ibn Al-Khattab, Islam’s second caliph.

“Instead of lifting subsidies in the name of rationalization, it would be possible to introduce additional taxes on those who benefit from them without needing them,” Saied said, adding that he believed such a mechanism would mean the country would not have to bow down to foreign lenders.