Safadi Seeks World Financial Support, Says ‘Cabinet Not Controlled by Hizbullah’
Finance Minister Mohammed al-Safadi sent a message to senior officials during his visit to Washington that the current Lebanese cabinet isn’t controlled by Hizbullah and “will never be Hizbullah’s government,” As Safir newspaper reported on Monday.
Safadi held meetings on Sunday with U.S. Assistant Secretary for International Finance Charles Collyns, International Monetary Fund chief Christine Lagarde, World Bank head Robert Zoellick and Saudi Arabia's Finance Minister Ibrahim al-Assaf.
Central Bank governor Riyad Salameh joined the meeting between Safadi and Collyns.
The daily reported that the U.S. Treasury inquired Safadi and Salameh about the Syrian deposits in Lebanese banks without any official request to implement any procedures, and asked about the measures taken by the cabinet to fund the electricity project.
Sources from the IMF expressed relief to As Safir at the near release of the Lebanese state budget and the transparency that the government is adopting concerning the financial issues.
The Finance Minister discussed during meetings with senior officials the cabinet’s plan to provide citizens with health care and constructing a railway network.
He also asked for the World Bank support, but its sources remarked that they needed to “discuss the issue with other international funds to provide (Lebanon) with this support.”
Safadi noted in a press conference later in the day that the “IMF and World Bank are keen on supporting Lebanon, and praised the parliament’s adoption of the electricity project.”
The minister said that he discussed with the officials the projects undertaken by the Lebanese cabinet.
The newspaper added that Salameh held talks with Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence David Cohen.
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