BEIRUT — "Since the election of President Joseph Aoun, the monetary situation in Lebanon has improved," said Wassim Mansouri, acting governor of the Banque du Liban (BDL), after a meeting on Thursday in Baabda with the new head of state elected on Jan. 9, after more than two years of presidential void.In the press conference, Mansouri noted that Lebanon’s foreign exchange reserves had risen by approximately $300 million in one week. When contacted by L'Orient Le-Jour, he confirmed the information and added that it had reached a net surplus of $210 million during the first two weeks of January, after the disbursement of the various planned expenditures — including amounts due under Circulars No. 18 and No. 161, which were designed to ease restrictions on withdrawals of deposits that have been frozen since the economic crisis began in...