BEIRUT, Lebanon, Aug 3 (NNN-NNA) – Lebanese President, Michel Aoun’s office, on Friday, denied reports that the president had hinted at plan, for Lebanon to ask the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for help, if the government fails to implement necessary reforms.
In a speech, marking Army Day, Aoun called on the Lebanese people, to “make sacrifice,” to avoid the risk of losing all benefits, during the current financial crisis.
However, some media reports said, the Lebanese president was hinting at a plan, to ask the IMF for support.
“What the President intended in his speech is, to invite the Lebanese to sacrifice some of their gains, so as not to risk losing them all, in order to help face the severe economic, financial and social crises experienced by the country,” the presidency office said, in a statement.
Lebanon passed its 2019 state budget, which includes several reforms aimed at cutting the budget deficit from 11.5 percent of GDP to 7.5 percent, as part of the key structural reforms recommended at the CEDRE conference, held in Paris last year, in exchange for financial assistance for Lebanon, approved at the conference.– NNN-NNA
