IMF's Executive: No Intention to Cancel Agreement with Lebanon

The Executive Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Mahmoud Mohieldin denied that the Fund had any intention of canceling the agreement signed with Lebanon.

This came in a statement following his meeting with Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati, Friday, in Beirut, according to the Lebanese Information Agency.

Mohieddin said: “My meeting today with Mikati comes within the framework of a series of meetings that I will hold with a number of Lebanese officials, to review the relations between Lebanon and the IMF, and the ongoing preparations for the visit that a delegation from Lebanon, headed by the Deputy Prime Minister, will make in the middle of this month to Washington to participate in the fund's meetings."

On the other hand, Speaker of the Lebanese Parliament, Nabih Berri, discussed, at the headquarters of the Second Presidency in Ain al-Tineh, with the Executive Director of the International Monetary Fund, in the presence of the Advisor in the Office of the Executive Director of the IMF, Maya Choueiri, the general conditions in Lebanon and the region, focusing on the path of the agreement between Lebanon and the IMF.

Mohieddin denied all rumors about the “nullification” of the initial agreement between Lebanon and the IMF, stressing “its stability, continuity, and development in line with Lebanese necessities.”

The discussion also touched on the issue of deposits, where Berri reaffirmed, in his name and on behalf of the Parliament, “the necessity of preserving the full rights of depositors, because of the importance of this for restoring confidence in Lebanon and its banking sector and the confidence of Lebanese residents and expatriates in their homeland, Lebanon.”

The meeting also addressed the issue of displaced Syrians, the funding crisis for the Refugee Relief Organization (UNRWA), the extent of the burdens and losses incurred by Lebanon in general, and the financial and economic situation, in particular.