A meeting between the IMF delegation and members of the Parliamentary Finance Committee, including Yassin Jaber (on the right), in December 2021. Archive photo NNA.
Since the start of consultations to form a Cabinet, Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri has had only one name in mind for the key Finance portfolio. That of Yassin Jaber.In addition to the fact that this candidacy will allow Amal and Hezbollah to keep a tight rein on the well-known “fourth signature” at the bottom of the decrees, and on other crucial dossiers including the implementation of structural reforms or budgetary expenditure linked to the reconstruction, it also offers the advantage of being seen as parties that respect the criteria established by the Prime Minister-designate, Nawaf Salam. For several years now, Jaber has been neither a minister (after serving as economy and trade minister from 1995 to 1998, and then as public works minister from 2004 to 2005) nor an MP (after having decided not to run for the 2022 parliamentary...
Since the start of consultations to form a Cabinet, Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri has had only one name in mind for the key Finance portfolio. That of Yassin Jaber.In addition to the fact that this candidacy will allow Amal and Hezbollah to keep a tight rein on the well-known “fourth signature” at the bottom of the decrees, and on other crucial dossiers including the implementation of structural reforms or budgetary expenditure linked to the reconstruction, it also offers the advantage of being seen as parties that respect the criteria established by the Prime Minister-designate, Nawaf Salam. For several years now, Jaber has been neither a minister (after serving as economy and trade minister from 1995 to 1998, and then as public works minister from 2004 to 2005) nor an MP (after having decided not to run for the 2022...