Lebanon enhances its cooperation with the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank to support reforms

For the second day in a row, the specialized technical meetings between the experts of the International Monetary Fund mission with a delegation from the World Bank, directors of directorates and experts specialized in the Lebanese Ministry of Finance, which aim to reach summaries and recommendations in the files presented in order to enhance transparency in public finance and for more comprehensive reforms.

The prominent of the meetings that were held with the International Monetary Fund mission to meet with the Directorate of imports and the Supreme Council of Customs so that a comprehensive evaluation of the update of information related to the achievement was linked to the conditions that Lebanon went through, and the focus was on the decisive role of the issue of revenue filling and data collection before proceeding to the regular oversight course according to Article 4 which was suspended last year.

The mission also focused on the issues of commitment and efforts to enhance these activities through the inter -employment, in addition to the progress in the national audit program, especially after the technical assistance that was provided to Lebanon during the past two years.

Discussions with the IMF

The mission experts have seen the increase in revenues thanks to the efforts made at the levels referred to despite the technical difficulties faced by the customs administrations, imports and challenges resulting from the Israeli aggression, extracting that last year was very positive in terms of revenues, especially in terms of customs revenues and its height that approximately 30% as well as the value -added tax revenues, which led To support financial stability and contribute to reducing deficit.

On the cooperation line between the Ministry of Finance and the World Bank to enhance financial management and improve ways to develop it, a dialogue takes place between a delegation from the bank and those concerned in the ministry to discuss the mechanisms for developing financial management within the funded projects, and to respond to the urgent needs in this field, in addition to supervising the proper implementation of the gift provided within the Lebanese financing facility (LF) to ensure the achievement of the desired goals efficiently and transparently.

Discussions deal with the study of the possibility of providing technical support and and its, including projects funded by the World Bank, with the aim of improving financial systems and enhancing operational capabilities. While this cooperation comes in the context of joint efforts between the Lebanese government and the World Bank to support financial reforms and enhance governance, in a way that contributes to achieving economic stability and responding to the current challenges.

Finance Minister Yassin Jaber has followed the progress of specialized work meetings, whether with the International Monetary Fund or the World Bank.