IMF warns Lebanon that the country is still facing enormous challenges, years after a meltdown began

By BASSEM MROUE
Associated Press

BEIRUT (AP) — The International Monetary Fund has warned that Lebanon is still facing enormous economic challenges, four years after the country’s historic meltdown began. The IMF issued a statement on Friday at the end of a four-day visit to Lebanon by a delegation from the financial agency. It welcomed recent policy decisions by Lebanon’s central bank to stop lending to the state and end the work in an exchange platform known as Sayrafa. The IMF says a permanent solution requires comprehensive policy decisions by the parliament and the government to contain the external and fiscal deficits and start restructuring the banking sector. Lebanon is in the grips of the worst economic and financial crisis in its modern history.