Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri said that "Lebanon is facing pressures on the levels of deficit, public debt and currency," stressing that "in front of this scene, there is a different one, which is the adoption of the budget of 2019 deficit rate of 7 per cent and its reforms, and the scene of the 2020 budget and the scene of the implementation of the electricity plan".
Lebanon is facing a crisis in the rise of public debt to GDP, in conjunction with a sharp economic decline, which caused the confidence loss in the local economy.
The Lebanese government approved the 2019 budget proposal on May the 7th, after a difficult 20-day debate. The Lebanese parliament has so far failed to pass the budget more than once, due to differences between the parliamentary blocs.
The Lebanese government's debt recorded 151% of GDP at the end of 2018, compared to 146% until 2017, according to Fitch estimates that the stability of government debt to GDP requires reducing the Lebanese budget deficit to at least 5.5% of GDP.
Source: (Al-Arabi Al-Jadeed newspaper, Edited)
