3 forum postsBEIRUT (Al Jazeera) — French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian has arrived in Lebanon on a visit aimed at pressing Beirut to implement long-overdue reforms and dissociate from regional conflicts, both seen as key to unlocking international aid.
Le Drian’s two-day visit comes as Lebanon spirals into its worst-ever economic crisis that is leading to mass poverty and rising hunger. On Thursday, he is set to meet Lebanese leaders, including President Michel Aoun, House Speaker Nabih Berri and Prime Minister Hassan Diab.
In May, Diab’s government began talks with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for a $10 bln programme. It is seeking an additional $11 bln in aid from the international community over the next five years to stave off the effects of the crisis.
Al Jazeera’s Zeina Khodr reports:
Rami (24 July 2020, 12:11)
Since autumn 2019, Lebanon has been sinking into its worst economic, financial and monetary crisis in thirty years. At the end of April, the government adopted a vast reform plan and requested the help of the IMF to try to get out of the crisis. But discussions have been suspended due to the lack of sufficient reforms. How did Lebanon get to this point?
Juliano di M. (24 July 2020, 18:24)
The bankruptcy benefits the development of the black market. The IMF has urged the Lebanese authorities to unite around the rescue package, but divisions persist within the government. The collapse of the currency has created an unprecedented economic crisis..
alpha omega (25 July 2020, 23:27)
The economic crises continues in Lebanon as the banking elites of Lebanon are still adamant about destroying Lebanon’s economy by banning the USD and limiting its circulation. Riad Salameh (the governor of the central bank of Lebanon) intentionally made this decision to deliberately destroy the livelihood and steal the savings of the already impoverished working-class of Lebanon. The only thing that was protecting the Lebanese people from the international banking elites is the ability to use the USD to exchange goods and services within Lebanon. Thanks to banning the dollar and sucking it out of the Lebanese economy, the international bankers can now finally devalue the local currency (the Lira) into oblivion. Unsurprisingly, the Lira has lost upwards of 60% of its value, dropping for the first time in nearly three decades, from a fixed rate of 1,507 pounds to the dollar to 2,400 in just the past few weeks. Meanwhile, Lebanon’s banks have imposed capital controls, limiting the withdrawal of dollars and foreign transfers.