BEIRUT — Lebanese Finance Minister Yassine Jaber met Wednesday with representatives from the international advisory firm Lazard, reigniting discussions on Lebanon's long-stalled debt restructuring plans. He also met with U.S. Ambassador Lisa Johnson to discuss various issues of mutual interest.

The government of former Prime Minister Hassan Diab had consulted Lazard in 2019 for its initial but ultimately aborted attempts to establish a debt restructuring and financial recovery plan at the onset of Lebanon's economic crisis.

Upon his meeting with the U.S. Ambassador, the Finance Ministry released a statement stating that Yassin and Johnson discussed "several issues of general interest." 

No substantial statement was made following the meeting with Lazard, with the ministry's communiqué only noting that the delegation was led by one of the firm's directors, Jérôme Alexis, who presented to the minister "his institution's vision on the reforms the government intends to undertake in collaboration with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), as well as on the restructuring of public debt and the eurobond portfolio," the dollar-denominated debt securities that Lebanon stopped repaying in March 2020.

The ministry's statement added that the delegation was led by Jérôme Alexis, one of Lazard's directors. Alexis presented Yassin "his institution's vision on the reforms the government intends to undertake in collaboration with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), as well as on the restructuring of public debt and the eurobond portfolio [the dollar-denominated debt securities that Lebanon deferred on in March 2020]," the ministry's statement read.

Beyond that, no major statements followed the meeting. 

In Nawaf Salam's government, some ministers recommend relying on Lazard's recommendations to progress discussions with the IMF, hoping to conclude a new preliminary agreement before the summer. However, others oppose this approach, according to sources from the Grand Serail.

Lazard's visit comes a week after that of an IMF delegation led by Lebanon's mission chief, Ernesto Ramirez Rigo, to whom authorities have officially submitted a new request for financial assistance.

This follows a round of discussions initiated by former Prime Minister Najib Mikati's government following its inauguration in Sept 2021, which ultimately did not yield an agreement. The Salam government now faces the task of beginning a new round of discussions, which could gain momentum due to some progress made in recent years in diagnosis and planning.

The Diab government’s debt restructuring plan was developed with input from the IMF and Lazard’s estimates and recommendations. Lazard was appointed in February 2020 to handle the financial aspects of the plan, alongside Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton, which handled the legal aspects. However, the plan was derailed by the banking lobby, leading the IMF to pause its discussions with Lebanon in the spring of 2020. The IMF later resumed talks after Mikati’s appointment.