Economic bodies gathered on Oct. 29 at the headquarters of the Beirut and Mount Lebanon Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture. (Credit: National News Agency)
More than a week after sounding the alarm on the economic situation, the president of economic organizations and former minister, Mohammad Choucair, issued an “urgent appeal to all political leaders” on Thursday, urging them to “do what is necessary to prevent the collapse of Lebanon,” already “exhausted” by “multiple crises.”
In a statement, Choucair reiterated his call for an “immediate end to the war,” to “launch the constitutional process to elect a president” and to “implement Resolution 1701” of the U.N. Security Council. “Only this process can lead to Lebanon's salvation,” he added.
The president of the economic organizations also estimated that the total direct losses suffered by Lebanon to date, as a result of the Israeli military escalation, amount to between 10 and 12 billion dollars. This includes losses in all economic sectors, as well as damage to buildings and infrastructure.
On Oct. 22, Choucair had put forward a range of “85 percent to 90 percent” to quantify the drop in the country's “economic activity,” without giving details of what he meant by this term, except that it excluded “activity linked to foodstuffs and certain basic and essential products,” or indicating the reference period.
In his latest press release, Choucair reviews the activity of several economic sectors, mentioning that some are suffering more or less significant slowdowns depending on the nature of the products or services, notably the commercial and industrial sectors, while others are almost at a standstill, such as the restaurant, hotel, car rental, events and nightclub sectors.
