Hariri declares the state of "economic urgency" to save Lebanon

The Lebanese government has decided to declare an economic emergency to improve the situation in the country and accelerate tax reforms.

Lebanese Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri said on Monday that Lebanon will declare an economic emergency and that the government has begun work on a plan to speed up tax reforms.

The Lebanese Prime Minister stressed the continuation of the policy of maintaining the stability of the Lebanese pound, which is linked to the dollar.

Hariri said that government ministers, politicians and lawmakers met Monday unanimously agreed on the outlines of a plan to place public finances and finance. economy on a more sustainable trajectory. "There is an agreement to declare an economic emergency."

"This difficult economic situation requires us to take swift action, such as the end of budget approval and deficit reduction," Hariri told reporters at the end of the meeting. which was also attended by President Michel Aoun, to deal with the deterioration of the economic situation.

He stressed that the government would organize more meetings to speed up the work.

Is Lebanon on the brink of bankruptcy?

Are Muslims prohibited from employment on the pretext of ignoring sectarian balances in Lebanon?

Lebanon's plan to fight illegal foreign labor targets Palestinian refugees

Lebanon is one of the most heavily indebted countries in the world with about 150% of GDP and is affected by years of weak economic growth.

Public finances, plagued by corruption and waste, are also under pressure from an overburdened public sector, debt service costs and subsidies for the state energy producer. .

Hariri added that the proposed measures included continuing to abide by this year's budget, which included politically difficult measures such as the freezing of government employment, the elimination of government units encroaching on the public treasury, as well as that the IPO of public companies.

He added that the government had sought to prevent the budget deficit from exceeding 5% of GDP by the end of a three – year financial plan ending in 2022.

Hariri did not answer a question about the prospects for raising taxes, saying any measures the government is considering to increase its income would take into account the need not to burden the burden.

Hariri also said the reforms would allow the $ 11 billion announced at the Paris conference last year to finance investments.

Hariri said the accelerated reforms would prevent a crisis similar to that of Greece, which was suffering from a debt crisis nine years ago and had to adopt stringent austerity measures under it. strict control of foreign creditors.

"We do not want this to happen to us, so we are taking steps to save the country."

Hariri commented on Fitch's downgrade of Lebanon's credit rating to the CCC 10 days ago, stressing that it was "a warning to take steps to boost the confidence of investors before it's too late. "

Fitch said his deterioration in Lebanon's B rating reflected "growing pressure on Lebanon's funding model and increased risk for the government's ability to service debt."