The Lebanese government underlined the necessity to strengthen the financial situation, restructure the public debt and adopt a reform program for growth, during a ministerial session held at the Baabda Palace and led by President Michel Aoun.
The Cabinet discussed developments in the financial and monetary situation.
Addressing the ministers, Aoun said: “In conjunction with negotiations with Eurobond holders, the government should develop a strategy for debt restructuring and plans to restructure banks, the central bank and others.”
Information Minister Manal Abdel Samad said Prime Minister Hassan Diab stressed the need to strengthen the financial situation, restructure the public debt and adopt a reform program for growth.”
“We all know that currency shortages automatically lead to a loss of value. These two factors lead to a decline in import, and thus an economic recession and an increase in the fiscal deficit, and of course the debt problem, which adds to the shortage of currency,” Abdel Samad quoted Diab as saying.
Measures will have repercussions on the banking system, the minister added.
“When we discover the extent of this effect, we will initiate reforms in the banking sector and seek to restore it to serve the real economy,” she explained, quoting the premier.
The Information minister went on to say that the package of reforms would “affect the lives of citizens and pave the way for a better future.”
“We are studying measures from two angles: Whether Lebanon will receive external support or not… We will protect the poorest groups by launching the social safety net because reforms will affect growth,” she reported.
The Cabinet also listened to the opinion of international consultants and studied a number of topics. Media reports said that following the session, the Finance and Economy ministers headed to the Grand Serail, where they held a meeting with Diab to further discuss the upcoming measures.
On the Coronavirus, the minister stressed that the issue took a large part of the discussion, adding that a decision on Wednesday will be taken over halting all flights from affected countries.
