The press office of Deputy Prime Minister Dr. Saadé Chami issued on Wednesday the following statement:
“A technical team from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) led by Mr. Ernesto Ramirez Rigo, visited Beirut for two days (February 28-March 1 2022). The team met with members of the committee in charge of the negotiations with the IMF (led by Dr. Saade Chami, Deputy Prime Minister) and also with the President, the Parliament Speaker, and the Prime Minister. The objective of the visit was to take stock of the work done already and outline the next steps needed to reach an agreement on the IMF program.
This visit comes less than a month after the IMF's virtual mission, building on the good progress made during that mission. A full IMF mission could still visit Lebanon in the second half of March to continue the discussions toward a Fund-supported program.
The IMF team and the Lebanese authorities agreed on the need for (i) undertaking macroeconomic reforms in the areas of medium-term fiscal adjustment, financial sector reform, and exchange rate unification, as well as on (ii) structural reforms including poverty alleviation, governance, and electricity, among others. The IMF team emphasized the need for some legislations required prior to taking the program to the Executive Board of the IMF for final approval. The two parties also agreed that any delay in undertaking the needed reforms and the supporting legislations will raise the cost of adjustment in the future.”
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