Lebanon has recorded limited growth of 2 percent this year after a sharp contraction due to the economic collapse that has lasted for more than three years, interim prime minister Najib Mikati announced on Thursday.
Despite this limited improvement, due to several reasons, the most important of which is the increase in transfers expatriates Tourism activity has improved, Mikati warned, “On the verge of a new year, Lebanon is at a crossroads, the conclusion of which is the expected increase or a gloomy decline”.
Eighty percent of the population is below the poverty line
Mikati said during a speech before the Arab Economic Forum in Beirut: “Despite continued macroeconomic pressures and ongoing financial imbalances in light of mounting political tensions, the economy is back on track for nearly two percent growth this year.” in effective terms, after the notable sharp contraction it has witnessed since the beginning of the crisis.” Year 2019.
Gross domestic product recorded negative growth in 2021 of 10.9 percent and 25.9 percent in 2020, according to data from the World Bank, which ranked The economic collapse of Lebanon Among the worst in the world since 1850.
Mikati’s statements come in a moment The Lebanese pound has recorded its lowest levelsWhile the exchange rate on the black market has touched the threshold of 46 thousand against the dollar.
Within three years, the lira had lost more than 95 percent of its value against the dollar and eighty percent of the population fell below the poverty line, according to the United Nations.
Mikati attributed the limited growth this year to several reasons, including improving imports and the construction sector and an increase in the number of tourists By seventy percent, plus a seven percent increase in expatriate remittances, to $6.8 billion.
Mikati asked about the need to resolve outstanding political issues, beyond which Election of the President of the Republic About two months after the vacancy and the implementation of reforms that the international community and the International Monetary Fund have made a condition for Lebanon to obtain financial support.
Lebanon is expected to record “positive growth of between four and five per cent” next year in the event of a “positive economic-political scenario” represented by the election of a president and the formation of a new government implementing reforms and reach a final agreement with the IMF.
Lebanon and the IMF reached a preliminary agreement in April help plan Worth three billion dollars over four years, its implementation is tied to the government’s commitment to implement reforms.
Political paralysis aggravates the situation, since in light of the presidential vacuum, the country is run by a provisional government that is unable to make the necessary decisions.
Since former President Michel Aoun’s term ended in late October, the Lebanese parliament has failed ten times to elect a president due to deep political divisions.
