Today, Wednesday, the International Monetary Fund considered that most of the reforms that Lebanon is expected to approve in order to obtain financial support have not yet been implemented, warning of the “cost” of this delay on the country suffering an economic crisis.
At the conclusion of a visit to the capital Beirut, which included meetings with a number of Lebanese officials, Ernesto Ramirez Rigo, who headed the IMF delegation, said in a statement, “Despite the urgent need to take measures to address the deep economic and social crisis in Lebanon, progress in implementing the agreed reforms …is still too slow.”
In April, the Fund announced that it had reached a preliminary agreement with Lebanon on an aid plan worth $3 billion over four years. But its implementation is linked to the government’s commitment to implement prior reforms and parliament’s approval of urgent bills, most notably the “Capital Control” law that restricts withdrawals and foreign currency exchange from banks, and the 2022 budget bill, in addition to passing legislation related to restructuring the banking sector and amending the banking secrecy law.
Rigot considered that “the majority of the prior measures have not been implemented”, despite the fact that they, along with other reforms, are “critical to the start of the recovery of the Lebanese economy.”
He warned that “delaying their implementation only increases costs for Lebanon and its residents,” stressing that the completion of reforms “is necessary for the Fund’s Board of Directors to consider a request for a financial program” to support Lebanon.
During its meetings, the IMF delegation urged officials in Beirut to expedite the approval of reforms before the presidential elections.
The term of current President Michel Aoun will end on October 31, without agreement yet on a candidate, which raises fears that the country will enter a phase of a presidential vacuum.
Prime Minister-designate Najib Mikati’s efforts to form a government have not been fruitful since the parliamentary elections that took place in mid-May.
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