Abu Selman: The IMF’s Tendency to Accept Lebanon’s Request

Former Minister Camille Abu Suleiman indicated that “there is a trend for the International Monetary Fund to accept Lebanon’s request signed by Prime Minister Hassan Diab and Finance Minister Ghazi Wazani earlier this month, based on what the Director General of the Kristalina Georgieva Fund informed Diab that the economic recovery plan that I established The government represents an important step forward to address the economic challenges facing Lebanon. “

He noted in a statement that “negotiations on technical conditions will begin this week, since the fund will take into account the government’s plan, but there are more technical conditions that the plan did not notice, the most important are illegal crossings, which are a technical and political element at the same time. “

He also considered that “the technical component will focus on reducing the debt / GDP ratio from 175% to 90%, explaining that the technical team, after studying the plan and determining the additional conditions, will issue a recommendation to negotiate with the government on this basis, and in light of this, it determines the amount to be allocated to Lebanon. “

In response to a question, Abu Sulaiman said that “the Board of Directors of the Fund does not impose additional conditions to those prepared by the technical team, but the financing countries may request that secondary terms be added, knowing that the suspension of the approval of several Influential members of the Fund, such as the European Union and the United States, are reflecting Negatively. “

On the other hand, he wished: “Not to dwell on public and well-known affairs, such as reducing the price of the lira, which has become a result, since it will not return to the level of 1500 per dollar, and therefore the trend towards “The most difficult things” that the government cannot implement, except under pressure, from The most prominent of these is the restructuring of the public sector, the cessation of illegal employment that has taken place in recent years, and the control of illegal crossings. , pointing out in this context the importance of changing the management of the electricity sector after demonstrating the catastrophic failure in the last ten years.

And when he mentioned that “dozens of plans in Lebanon have been presented in recent years and have been tinted on paper and not a single thing has been applied to them,” said Abu Suleiman: “After the IMF agreed to support Lebanon, we we will face new data, “we do not expect what officials in Lebanon think. We are waiting for what the fund will ask for.”

And he considered that “it is natural for the fund to put additional conditions, especially since a large part of the money and liquidity must go to the social part,” and said: “The only way to extend the poor classes with liquidity is through the fund. , unlike what some people say about the fund’s policy. To increase poverty in Lebanon. “

Given this, Abu Suleiman declared that “the fund will not only be content with the government’s plan, but will become familiar with the opinions of various parties and actors outside the government,” noting that “the fund knows the Lebanese situation well and knows what the government can do. “

In response to a question about how to pay, he noted that “it is carried out in 3 or 4 stages and each time there are new conditions, knowing that the most difficult conditions will be in the first stage, because international authorities do not trust Lebanon. and its obligations to its promises. For example, with respect to electricity, it may be required to supply at least one electricity plant. “

He concluded with regret, “losing a period of six months before the government decided to go to the International Monetary Fund, and thus losing more opportunities.”