Lebanese Deputy Prime Minister HE Al-Shami said Tuesday that Lebanon’s maritime agreement with Israel “in no way diminishes” the need for immediate financial reforms.
Al-Shami led a Lebanese delegation to Washington, DC last week to attend the annual meetings for the IMF and the World Bank.
Since the beginning of June, developments relating to the dossier have accelerated demarcation of the maritime border Between Lebanon and Israel, after a pause of months due to disputes over the disputed area.
After meetings and shuttle contacts between the two sides, the American broker, Amos Hochstein, recently presented his latest offer, which was approved by both sides.
Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid announced that a “historic” agreement has been reached to delimit the maritime border with Lebanon.
The presidency of the Lebanese Republic considered that the final version of the American offer was “satisfactory for Lebanon and preserved Lebanon’s rights over its natural wealth”.
Lebanese authorities count on the presence of natural resources that would help the country overcome the catastrophic repercussions of the economic collapse that the country has been witnessing for three years, and the World Bank has ranked it among the worst in the world since 1850 More than 80 percent of the Lebanese are below the poverty line, the Lebanese pound has lost more than 90 percent of its value against the dollar.
