Saadeh Shami hopes new round of discussions with the IMF will not be sabotaged

Relatively discreet since the start of the year, former Deputy Prime Minister Saadeh Shami called for the new round of discussions between Lebanon and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), potentially leading to a financial assistance program, not to be sabotaged by the same "pressure groups and special interests" that have derailed previous attempts, including the one initiated by the government of Najib Mikati, to which he belonged.

"Today, three years have passed since the signing of the [preliminary or Staff-Level] agreement with the IMF on April 7, 2022, without us being able to reach a final agreement. Political will — intrinsically linked to the pressure groups and special interests harmed by the reform process — has prevented the implementation of prerequisites and has succeeded in blocking the conclusion of this agreement," the former IMF official wrote in a statement. The "pressure groups and special interests" he refers to are composed of banks refusing to lose their capital in a restructuring, major depositors, and a part of the political class aligned with their position, which is to force the state to cover losses.

"And now the current government is returning, in its approach, to the same principles on which the [preliminary] agreement was based," Shami stated. "I hope that another three years will not pass without the required reforms being implemented."

Formed on Feb. 8, a month after the resolution of the presidential election by the election of Joseph Aoun, the government of Nawaf Salam resumed discussions with the IMF in March when a delegation from the organization visited Beirut. The next meeting between the two parties is scheduled in Washington in the second half of April and is expected to initiate a process that will first lead to a new preliminary agreement, wherein Lebanon and the IMF will agree on a set of reforms to be launched beforehand, followed by a possible final agreement scheduling further reforms as well as the disbursement of funds intended to help Lebanon out of the crisis that has persisted since 2019, further exacerbated by the war between Israel and Hezbollah.