Situation in Lebanon is ‘very dangerous,’ International Monetary Fund warns

Situation in Lebanon is ‘very dangerous,’ International Monetary Fund warns

BEIRUT: “Lebanon is in a very dangerous situation,” the International Monetary Fund warned on Thursday, a year after authorities in the country committed to a program of reforms they have failed to implement.

The financial agency urged “the Lebanese government to halt borrowing from the central bank.” And the IMF’s mission chief to Lebanon, Ernesto Rigo, said during a news conference in Beirut that authorities must accelerate their efforts to meet the conditions required for a $3 billion bailout plan.

“One would have expected more in terms of implementation and approval of the legislation” relating to economic reforms, he said, noting that progress has been “very slow.”

Members of the IMF mission have spent nearly a month in Lebanon, during which they met many Lebanese officials and diplomats in an attempt to persuade them to step up efforts to introduce the reforms they had promised.

“We were expecting more in terms of adopting and implementing legislation aimed at reforming Lebanon’s financial system,” said Rigo. “The final draft of the Capital Control Law does not meet the objectives and needs to be amended.”

Lebanon signed an agreement with the IMF nearly a year ago but has yet to meet the conditions necessary to secure the full