"The fund is committed to helping Lebanon implement the necessary reforms, but Lebanon still needs a coherent financial framework and a reliable strategy to rehabilitate its banking sector," said Kristalina Georgieva, the Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund.
Georgieva’s words came during the opening of a second international conference in support of Lebanon four months after the Beirut port bombing, which was held through a "video conference" feature, chaired by Emmanuel Macron, the French President & António Guterres, the UN Secretary-General, with the participation of heads of state, international organizations, multilateral funds, and Non-governmental organizations and Lebanese civil society actors.
Georgieva stressed that "the efforts of the IMF to develop a comprehensive program to achieve stability and reform did not go a long way in recent months in the absence of a full-fledged Lebanese government," noting that "the global support presented at the conference is encouraging."
For his part, French President Emmanuel Macron reiterated his demand for the Lebanese authorities to undertake reforms, at a time when the differences of Lebanese officials continue, considering that “this support cannot be a substitute for the Lebanese political forces’ pledge to form a government as soon as possible and implement a roadmap for reforms, without which it will be impossible to launch the international structural assistance."
However, the World Bank warned that the severe economic crisis in Lebanon has made the economy vulnerable to a "deliberate arduous recession", in light of the authorities' failure to contain the collapse, calling for the formation of a government to implement a comprehensive reform program quickly.
Source (Al-Arabiya.net, Edited)
