Aoun Says Lebanon Committed to Reform as IMF Says Ready to Help

President Michel Aoun on Tuesday told an International Monetary Fund delegation that Lebanon is “committed to devising a feasible reformist plan” and to “cooperating with IMF to approve it quickly.”

Aoun also said that “the priority should be given to the social and health issues, and to confronting poverty and moving forward in repairing infrastructure in the country, such as electricity, telecommunications and the Beirut port.”

The IMF Deputy Director of the Middle East and Central Asia Department, Thanos Arvanitis, for his part said that the Fund is willing to help Lebanon lay out a comprehensive program that would enable it to confront the current financial and economic crisis.

He, however, added that such a program requires joint efforts from all Lebanese governmental and political parties and consensus among them over supporting a comprehensive economic plan that would restore confidence in the Lebanese economic situation.