Lebanon’s financial capacity ‘very limited’, economy minister says after blast

The Lebanese state and central bank have “very limited” financial capacity to confront the impact of the port warehouse explosion that devastated Beirut without foreign aid, its economy minister Raoul Nehme said on Thursday.

“The capacity of the state is very limited, and so is that of the central bank and the banks. We’re not swimming in dollars,” Nehme said in media statements.

He said many countries were rushing to help and damages were in the billions of dollars, adding that working with the International Monetary Fund was the only way out for Lebanon, which was already wrestling with a dollar crunch and financial meltdown before Tuesday’s blast.