Lebanese Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri said Monday that a French-led international effort to help Lebanon out of its economic doldrums would not resume before the fall, pending an official evaluation by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), reported the Daily Star.
He made the remarks in Paris before heading back to Beirut after a 24-hour visit for talks with French officials on political and financial issues.
Hariri conferred for two hours with French President Jacques Chirac on Monday, saying afterward that the talks focused mainly on the Middle East situation in light of escalating tensions in the West Bank and Gaza, said the paper.
During the talks, the two leaders underscored the need for Israel to end its attacks on Palestinians and called for the deployment of international observers in the strife-torn Occupied Territories.
Discussions also touched on the question of convening the so-called Paris II conference, a follow-up to the meeting held in France earlier this year and attended by the World Bank and other bodies interested in helping improve Lebanon’s economy.
Asked about the fate of the conference, Hariri said he had raised the matter with Chirac.
“As you know, the International Monetary Fund is due to issue a full report … by October, and it was agreed that the conference should not be held until then,” Hariri said.
“Accordingly, the meeting will take place by the year-end.”
The IMF submitted a nine-page preliminary summary of its findings to the government last week following talks with several officials this month to assess the financial situation.
Finance Minister Fouad Siniora had said the IMF report would encourage the government to press ahead with restructuring and privatization efforts.
Asked about the proposed partnership agreement between Lebanon and the European Union, Hariri told reporters that the accord still lacked certain elements, among them a reply to specific questions submitted by Lebanon on agricultural exchanges.
Other questions, he said, were related to selling Lebanese agricultural produce to European markets – Albawaba.com
