The return of the Lebanese delegation to the meetings of the Monetary Fund and Support is linked to the completion of reforms

The Lebanese delegation, headed by Minister of Finance Yassin Jaber, concluded its meetings in the spring meetings of the Monetary Fund and the World Bank in Washington with a series of meetings, the most prominent of which is the dialogue table for Lebanese financing in the field of recovery and reconstruction through the Lebanese emergency assistance project (leap).

In the name of the Lebanese government, Jaber affirmed its commitment to the path of economic and institutional reform, stressing that “the country is facing a historical opportunity to restore the confidence of the international community and Lebanese citizens alike.”

He pointed out that “the new government, with the support of the newly -elected President of the Republic, began implementing a package of structural reforms, which included the approval of the 2025 budget, the launch of reforms in the banking confidential law, the development of recent tax laws, and the enhancement of governance and oversight in state institutions, especially in the energy, aviation, and communications sectors.”

He pointed out that “the government seeks to restructure the financial sector through the approval of the financial gap law and the strategy of restoring deposits, in line with international standards, in addition to expected monetary reforms in the Bank of Lebanon.”

Regarding the damages resulting from the recent war, Jaber explained that “Lebanon faces the needs of recovery and reconstruction estimated at $ 11 billion”, calling on the international community to “contribute to the World Bank’s program, which is funded by one billion dollars, which constitutes the basic mechanism for financing,” calling for expanding international support for the army and enhancing the state’s sovereignty, stressing that “growth led by the private sector is the future of Lebanon, and this cannot be achieved. Without a real partnership with the international community.

The Deputy Director General of the International Monetary Fund, Miguel Clark, who is responsible for Lebanon’s file in the fund, described the meeting with the Lebanese cabinet delegation to the meetings of the International Monetary Fund held in Washington as “very good”.
He wrote in a tweet on the “X” platform after the meeting: “I welcomed the reform of banking secrecy. We also discussed difficult and critical reforms for sustainable growth, and the efforts made to finance reconstruction. We are still involved in preparing the reform package in Lebanon.”

On the level of the reforms file, Al -Diyar quoted an informed source that after the approval and issuance of the law of raising the banking confidentiality, the government is devoting in the next few weeks to discuss and approve the draft financial system of regularity or the so -called financial gap law that defines financial losses and how to distribute responsibility for and bear it, and thus draws the path and fate of deposits and the money of depositors, after recently referred the draft law regulating the banking sector or re -re – Structuring banks to the House of Representatives.

The source revealed that France recently informed the Lebanese officials that it is ready to call for a conference of assistance and support for Lebanon in Paris in July, and that confirming this date is linked to the completion of the required economic and financial reforms from Lebanon.

He added that in light of the available data so far, the government is interested and continuing to work for reforms, hoping that its laws will approve before or early summer, and that the approval of the draft financial gap law is an important need to pass Fanon to restructure banks in the House of Representatives after his lesson by the competent committees, especially the Finance Committee, which is expected to start his lesson soon.

In the same context, a parliamentary source explained that there is an objective correlation between the laws of restructuring banks and the financial gap, because determining and distributing losses allow the field to evaluate the status of banks and restructure them, and it is supposed to secure deposits by identifying losses and distributing responsibilities.

He added that “there is a wide parliamentary opinion recorded in previous discussions about the distribution of losses to: banks, bank of Lebanon, and the state.”

The source concluded that the government will accomplish a lesson and approval of the draft financial gap and refer it to the council within the next few weeks, stressing that the parliament is ready to discuss these two basic laws in the reforms, a delegation of a delegation of its commitment to the approval of the reform laws through what it has done so far in this field, the last of which is the approval of the law of raising the banking confidentiality.

The source hoped that Lebanon will complete the completion of the basic reform laws during the next two months, and thus secure the elements required to obtain aid and financial support from the Fund, the World Bank, bodies and donor countries, enhance the confidence of the international community in Lebanon and provide investment opportunities in it.