President Aoun received an invitation to attend the
Christmas prayer, from father Jalkh.
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MP Al-Shami: “Technical negotiations with the IMF
have ended, and we have entered the stage of negotiations on monetary and
economic policies”.
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MP Al-Shami: “We hope that the Cabinet will meet
soon, and the three presidents are working on that”.
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Deputy Prime Minister Saadeh Al-Shami confirmed that
the technical negotiations with the International Monetary Fund are almost
over, "And we have entered the negotiation stage on monetary and economic
policies in order to start negotiations with the IMF team, which we hope will
visit Lebanon soon”.
Al-Shami also pointed out that each minister works
on his files within his jurisdiction, provided that the government's plan is
announced upon its completion, noting that it requires the cabinet to convene
for approval. MP Al-Shami
expressed his hope to meet soon, stating that the three presidents are working
towards this end.
Al-Shami’s stances came while meeting President of
the Republic, General Michel Aoun, today at Baabda Palace.
Al-Shami briefed the President on the course of
negotiations with the International Monetary Fund.
Statement:
After the meeting, Al-Shami made the following
statement:
“Today, I visited the President of the Republic to
brief him on the progress of negotiations with the International Monetary Fund.
I informed the President that the technical
negotiations are almost over and we have entered the negotiation stage on
monetary and economic policies in order to start negotiating seriously with the
IMF team, which we hope will visit Lebanon soon.
Our goal is still to reach a preliminary agreement
before the end of the year, and after that, as it is imposed, we will reach a
final agreement in January of next year. Negotiations with the IMF depend on
several axes, including those related to fiscal policy, i.e. the budget, which
is an essential element of negotiation, as the Minister of Finance is working
to prepare for it as soon as possible, in addition to the issue of the exchange
rate, monetary policy, and the banking and financial sector, and we are
preparing a vision for how to solve this issue, which we will announce upon
completion.
From here, everyone works within the framework of
his competence, but we cannot announce a plan but when it is completed.
This is with regard to macroeconomic policies, as
for structural policies, the government is working on the issue of poverty in
addition to the electricity and energy policy, where the Minister of Energy
works to find appropriate solutions and improve electricity supply, and as I
said, we work each within his jurisdiction and as soon as the plan is completed
we announce it”.
Questions &
Answers:
Al-Shami was asked about the impact of the issue of
the parliamentary elections on the negotiations with the International Monetary
Fund, and he replied: “The Fund will not link any issue to the elections, as it
can sometimes affect the negotiations from the side of the concerned country,
not from the side of the Fund, as it deals with the fact that if the Lebanese
state reached a conclusion. An economic plan will then be looked at, and if it
is good, the IMF will agree to it, but he will not interfere in the matter of
the elections”.
And whether the plan and the numbers are unified, he
answered: “Any plan will have unified numbers and everyone will agree on it.
The committee charged with negotiating with the Fund is made up of 3 ministers
and the governor of the Banque du Liban. It has convened several times and will
continue its meetings in the near future to reach agreement on all elements of the
plan”.
Regarding the forensic audit requirement that the
fund insists on, Al-Shami replied: “I am not at the heart of the audit issue,
but as you know, work is being done. Yesterday, Baabda palace witnessed a
meeting with the BDL Governor and the Minister of Finance, and we hope that
things will go as quickly as possible”.
Regarding the unification of the exchange rate as
one of the conditions of the IMF, he replied that “The unification of the
exchange rate is the demand of everyone and I think that it will be a condition
of the Fund because things cannot proceed in the country in light of the
multiplicity of exchange rates. We hope that when the exchange rate is unified,
and if we agree on an economic plan with the IMF, the price will improve, because
then the money will flow into the country and confidence in it will be
restored”.
Al-Shami was then asked about the impact of the
government’s failure on the work of the ministerial committees, where hr
stressed that each of the ministers is working on his files, and so far there
is no obstacle in our work, “But at some point we are faced with a need for a
cabinet meeting, in order to present the plan, and I think that the three
presidents are working on this issue. We hope that it will take place in the
near future”.
About the impact of its failure on the negotiations
with the IMF, Al-Shami said: “The plan should be presented to the Council of
Ministers first to be approved. There will be an impact on the negotiations
with the Fund if it does not meet in the near future”.
And whether that will happen before the New Year, he
answered, “God willing, the Cabinet will meet soon”.
Father Jalkh:
The President received the President of the Antonine
University, Father Michel Jalkh, accompanied by the Secretary-General and
Vice-President for Administrative Affairs, Father Ziad Maatouk.
The delegation handed the President an invitation to
attend the Christmas Mass on Wednesday, December 15, at 6:00 pm.