The headquarters of the Directorate General of Finance in Adlieh, Jan. 16, 2026. (Credit: Philippe Hage Boutros/L’Orient-Le Jour)
Largely absent from the headlines, the reform aimed at establishing a medium-term fiscal framework (MTFF) in Lebanon remains a critical task that Prime Minister Nawaf Salam’s government must take on. The MTFF is a tool recommended by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to help countries manage their public finances sustainably. It also ranks among the preliminary reforms Lebanon must launch if it hopes to convince the IMF to allow it to enter a financial assistance program. For a country burdened by massive financial liabilities, the MTFF offers leaders a proven method to adopt successive budgets. These budgets could help the state maximize potential revenues, so it can not only finance itself but also meet its most pressing obligations. These include recapitalizing the central bank, repaying deposits, servicing public debt and funding...
Largely absent from the headlines, the reform aimed at establishing a medium-term fiscal framework (MTFF) in Lebanon remains a critical task that Prime Minister Nawaf Salam’s government must take on. The MTFF is a tool recommended by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to help countries manage their public finances sustainably. It also ranks among the preliminary reforms Lebanon must launch if it hopes to convince the IMF to allow it to enter a financial assistance program. For a country burdened by massive financial liabilities, the MTFF offers leaders a proven method to adopt successive budgets. These budgets could help the state maximize potential revenues, so it can not only finance itself but also meet its most pressing obligations. These include recapitalizing the central bank, repaying deposits, servicing public debt and...
