The repercussions of Lebanon’s economic crisis reached its embassies abroad, as all economic attaches in diplomatic missions received an official letter from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs regarding the non-renewal of their contracts next year.
The decision of the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates in the caretaker government, Abdullah Bou Habib, surprised the economic attaches to some extent, as one of them tells Al-Hurra, although “every year we hear that our services will be dispensed with, so that we go back and hear that we are a national need,” and he adds, ” Some people ask about the added value of our work and consider appointing us a waste that costs the treasury huge amounts of money, although we annually submit a report for the ambassador to evaluate our work, and on the basis of that, the Civil Service Council renews the contract with us.
The justification for not renewing the contract with the economic attaches was to reduce the expenses of the Lebanese diplomatic missions as a result of the financial scarcity, but, as an economic attache says to the “Al-Hurra” website, “the numbers reached the percentage of our salaries that do not constitute more than 3 percent of the total salaries of the external corps, which is the lowest percentage of salaries compared to With the salaries of the rest of the corps of ambassadors and consuls, knowing that some of us resigned from their jobs to invest in the national interest.” Her colleague also confirmed this by saying: “Our average salary ranges between 8 thousand and 10 thousand dollars, while the average salary for consuls ranges between 14 thousand and 16 thousand dollars. “.
It is reported that, in 2019, 20 economic attaches joined their work centers outside Lebanon, in Washington, Brussels, Riyadh, Abu Dhabi, Amman, Cairo, Kuwait, Baghdad, Moscow, Paris, Berlin, Beijing, Brasilia, Mexico, Abuja, Abidjan. London, Tokyo, Pretoria and Ottawa, after the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Emigrants at the time, Gebran Bassil, launched a course for them that followed their success in the exam conducted by the ministry, so that five of them would return and submit their resignations.
According to Decree 3040, issued in 1972, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates contracts with attaches for one year, subject to renewal, and the contract becomes effective with the signature of the minister and the approval of the Civil Service Council.
Unappreciated achievements
The economic attaches have the right to ask, as the economic attache says, if the Ministry of Foreign Affairs conducted a “study during which it compared the burdens of our salaries and the returns of our work before making its decision, although there are matters that cannot be converted into numbers. Marketing products and partnerships in the private sector need long plans.” Nevertheless, we were able, through short-term plans, to secure immediate foreign markets for Lebanese products.”
And she affirms, “Since we joined our centers, we have raised the export rate from 60 to 80 percent in some countries, prepared ‘economic data’ (data), and opened doors for Lebanese merchants. Our project is promising and its repercussions are positive. We are all experienced and hold higher degrees. What we have done, the minister wants, with the stroke of a pen, to end an economic initiative for not paying a million and a half dollars annually at a time when our work is worth millions of dollars.
The economic attaches continued their work “on the sweet and sour,” according to her description, explaining, “Six months have already passed without us receiving our salaries, and yet we have been patient. Until now, we have not received the fees for the month of July. Instead of being treated like other diplomats, we are rewarded by handing us the decision to dispense with our services and suspend A project with an economic vision, at a time when all countries are moving towards economic diplomacy, which proves its importance day after day, and the evidence is that the embassies of major countries have allocated a large economic section in Lebanon despite its small market, while our country has one economic attache in the largest countries.
Her colleague believes that the Foreign Minister wants to hand over the tasks of the economic attaches to the consuls, and he knows, according to him, that “the economic attache can perform the functions of the consul, but the opposite is not possible, and this appeared during the Corona crisis, as we contributed to securing vaccines and evacuations, in addition to our work in Finding markets for selling Lebanese products abroad, participating in exhibitions, or even setting up some of them, and we have also created a platform to facilitate the Lebanese finding jobs.
Decree 3040 issued in 1972 assigned the economic attache several tasks, including collecting information about what concerns Lebanon in terms of economic, commercial and financial affairs in the country within its jurisdiction, and studying this information to know its impact on the Lebanese economy and to discover possible markets for Lebanese products and services and the possibility of employing Foreign capital in Lebanon and stimulating tourism there.
Also included within the tasks of the economic attache is making contacts with other missions, with officials, businessmen, chambers of commerce and industry, associations of merchants and industrialists, members of the Lebanese community, and with those responsible for the media and all those concerned with economic, industrial, commercial, financial and tourism affairs, to introduce Lebanon and its potentials in these fields, find markets for it, and work to establish chambers Joint business and follow-up of its activity.
His role also lies in contributing to the organization of exhibitions, markets and conferences, receiving the Lebanese coming for this purpose, facilitating their mission, supervising the permanent Lebanese exhibitions, participating in the meetings and work of international bodies, negotiations, concluding international treaties and agreements, providing information and advice to Lebanese businessmen and securing the link between them and businessmen in the country. in which they reside.
The Economic Attache shall strive to settle commercial disputes between the Lebanese and foreigners, protect the economic interests of the Lebanese, and search for the possibility of obtaining foreign aid and loans and work to obtain them.
between urgent need and inevitability
The decision of the Lebanese Foreign Minister came “at a time when Lebanon desperately needs economic attaches,” according to what the Director General of the Ministry of Economy and Trade, Dr. Muhammad Abu Haidar, affirmed, saying: “First, to allow Lebanese goods to enter foreign markets, and secondly, to activate trade agreements between Lebanon and the rest of the countries and create competitive new markets.
Abu Haidar refers, in an interview with Al-Hurra, to the “tremendous” work done by the economic attaches, “they introduced food industries and the Lebanese restaurant to Europe, and recently exports to the European Union reached the highest rate, amounting to 600 million euros, and they also contributed to the entry of Lebanese products.” greatly to America.
With regard to the Gulf countries, Abu Haidar says, “We are preparing to reactivate trade agreements with them, and therefore we need economic attaches, noting that they followed Lebanon’s participation in Expo Dubai last year, and Expo Qatar this year, without forgetting their efforts in South America and Africa. There is a large Lebanese community.
“The termination of contracts with the economic attaches has become mandatory and inevitable, even if it is socially harmful to them, as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has no other choice,” according to the economic researcher, Professor Jassim Ajaka, who believes in an interview with the “Al-Hurra” website that “Lebanon will not lose anything after dispensing with their mission.” There is no country in the world ready to work with Lebanon without the Lebanese authority carrying out reforms, and therefore any effort made by the economic attaches will not lead to a result.”
Bou Habib made his decision four years after the economic crisis afflicting Lebanon, as the country has reached, according to what the caretaker prime minister, Najib Mikati, said, “a very difficult and dangerous stage,” adding during the cabinet session, which was held Thursday, that so far “No financial reform project has yet been approved.”
More than that, the extreme danger lies in the fact that, in the absence of a law to restructure banks and resume their activities as usual, we have come to rely on the monetary economy, which poses a great danger, as it is a means for all financial crimes that may occur. And I fear that if we delay further in the process of passing laws, the consequences will be very dire, not for people, but for the economy in the country as a whole.”
During the session, a number of ministers objected, according to the Economic Attaché, “that the Minister of Foreign Affairs did not consult with the ministries concerned with our work, including agriculture, industry, tourism, economy and trade, as they stressed the importance of continuing our mission, and therefore the need for Bou Habib to back down from his decision.”
Calls to reverse the decision
“Nothing like industry and export can save a country from its economic crisis,” according to the economic attache. “Without economic attaches abroad following up on economic matters, this will not succeed. For the first time, all concerned ministers from different sects and political orientations agree with economic bodies, non-governmental associations, and companies on One opinion, that the job we’re doing is necessary.”
Bou Habib’s decision prompted a response from MP Farid Al-Bustani, who described it as “ill-considered,” considering in a tweet via “X” that it threatens Lebanon’s commercial and economic relationship with important and influential countries that import more than two billion dollars from it annually, and contribute to the steadfastness of several industries that support thousands. families.”
He added, “What is required is a review and a serious study of the decision by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to find effective solutions that preserve the bonds of economic linkage between Lebanon and abroad, and to search for other ways to reduce expenses.”
The “economic bodies” headed by the former minister, Mohamed Choucair, also called on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to “revert its decision,” stressing in a statement, “the need for all responsible and concerned parties in the Lebanese state to work to secure financing needs to secure the salaries of economic attachés, for their primary role in Achieving Lebanon’s economic interests and marketing products and brands, as well as marketing Lebanon at the level of tourism in the countries in which they are present.
For its part, the Association of Lebanese Industrialists “deeply regretted the decision of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs,” considering that “this step would destroy all the efforts built in recent years in order to open new markets for industrial exports and build new trade relations with a large number of countries,” and considered that “It is still time to search for solutions to this crisis.”
In a statement, the association called on “Lebanese officials in general, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in particular, to reconsider this decision, given the importance of the role played by the economic attaches in terms of securing Lebanon’s economic, industrial and commercial interests in the countries in which they were appointed, which is reflected in a recovery in Lebanon’s economy as well as facilitating the affairs of industrialists.” By contributing to concluding agreements, providing advice to Lebanese businessmen, and contributing to settling any disputes between Lebanon and any of these countries.”
2023-08-19 12:19:37
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