IMF:Lebanon needs comprehensive, equitable reforms in many areas

The International Monetary Fund remains in discussions with Lebanon about possible financing arrangements, an IMF spokesman said on Thursday, adding that it was premature to discuss the scope of any potential program.

Spokesman Gerry Rice declined to give any details on reforms the Fund would require before it would authorize a program, but said the Lebanese government needed to implement comprehensive, equitable reforms in many areas.

He said Lebanon also needed to reach a common understanding about the source and size of the financial losses it faces.

“The discussions are ongoing. These are complex issues that require a common diagnostic of the sources of the losses and the size of the losses in the financial system, as well as on the feasible options to address them in an effective, and equitable manner,” Rice said during a regular briefing held online.