Lebanese PM announces reform program for Paris conference of donors

Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Seniora on Tuesday announced an economic revival and reform program that his government intends to present to a conference of donors at Paris later this month, local Naharnet news website reported. Seniora told a news conference held at government compound in downtown Beirut that the government would convene on Thursday to ratify the accord.

The program for "economic-social revival and reconstruction" focuses on: sparking development and modernizing the economy; reforming the social status and strengthening social security networks to protect limited-wage sectors; major financial reform, a privatization program aimed at encouraging investment and creating new jobs; a conservative monetary policy; and an exchange policy to support the national currency, according to the report.

In line with drawing a policy to achieve the five major points, the sixth, and the most important part, of the government scheme calls for "seeking international financial backing for Lebanon" from the Paris III conference of donors that will convene on Jan. 25 at the French capital of Paris.

Seniora also warned that failing to gain international support would further escalate the state debt and "the Lebanese economy would enter a very serious era."

Lebanon has a foreign debt of 41 billion dollars and sustained losses estimated at 6.3 billion dollars during the 34 days of war between Hezbollah and Israel last summer, the report said.

Source: Xinhua