US Ambassador Michel Issa visits Kanaan a day after Finance Committee meeting on banking resolution

U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon Michel Issa visited Metn on Friday, where he met with MP Ibrahim Kanaan, president of the parliamentary Finance and Budget Committee and a former member of the Free Patriotic Movement (FPM).

They discussed developments in Lebanon and the region, notably the ongoing negotiation process in Washington and its importance for Lebanon in reaching a lasting cease-fire, as well as support for the Lebanese Army and financial and economic reforms.

The meeting took place a day after the first session of the parliamentary committee tasked with examining an amended banking resolution bill. Parliament adopted the bill last summer, but its content, amended by MPs, was deemed noncompliant with international standards by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), from which Lebanon — mired in crisis since 2019 and at war since 2023 — is seeking financial assistance tied to the implementation of reforms.

Issa did not make a statement after the visit.