The delegation from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), led by mission chief for Lebanon Ernesto Ramirez Rigo and including the organization’s resident representative in Lebanon, Frederico Lima, began a new visit to Lebanon this week to assess possible progress on the various reform projects the country must launch. These reforms are essential to clean up Lebanon’s financial system and qualify for an IMF-backed assistance program.  After welcoming the delegation at the Grand Serail, Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said the meeting was "positive and fruitful" and that discussions focused on the draft law concerning the restoration of financial order and the return of deposits (the so-called financial gap law), which was recently adopted by the Cabinet and sent to Parliament, as well as on the banking resolution law passed last summer.  The delegation visited Ain el-Tineh earlier in the day for talks with Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri. While no official schedule has been announced, the IMF experts are expected to meet with President Joseph Aoun, Finance Minister Yassine Jaber, and Banque du Liban (BDL, central bank) governor Karim Souhaid. According to a source close to the matter, the planned talks are "very technical."  The IMF is not expected to make a statement before the end of this monitoring visit, which comes nearly three weeks after the meeting in Davos between Salam and IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva, with the head of the institution also describing the encounter as "very positive."  In two months, a Lebanese delegation is expected to travel to Washington to take part in the IMF and World Bank spring meetings. This will be the last window for official discussions before the parliamentary elections in May.  Despite the commitment shown by the Salam government when it was formed a year ago, Lebanon’s progress on reforms remains mixed.  The banking secrecy law was pushed through in April 2025; the banking resolution law needs to be amended to meet IMF expectations, as does the financial gap bill.  The 2026 budget, which Aoun signed Tuesday and which must soon be published in The Official Gazette, does not fit into a medium-term strategy for rationalizing state public finances. Some observers consider it credible that the IMF might relax some of its secondary requirements for Lebanon if the issue of restoring the Lebanese state's monopoly on arms is addressed, but so far no official statement from Lebanese authorities, the IMF, or any other party has confirmed this. (ICE BEIRUT)

Fonte notizia: L'Orient Today