BEIRUT (Dispatches) – Lebanon has formed a new government delegation to resume talks with the International Monetary Fund.
The government of Prime Minister Najib Mikati said in a statement that a four-member committee had been appointed to resume talks with the IMF.
The team — Deputy Prime Minister Saade Chami, Finance Minister Youssef Khalil, Economy Minister Amin Salam and central bank governor Riad Salameh — would be backed by experts.
The eastern Mediterranean country is facing what the World Bank has described as one of the world’s worst economic crises since the 1850s.
Its currency, the pound, has lost almost 90 percent of its value against the dollar on the black market since 2019, and people’s savings are trapped in banks.
The United Nations has sounded the alarm on Lebanon’s spiraling economic meltdown, calling on the country’s leadership to urgently implement reforms.
“The situation remains a living nightmare for ordinary people, causing unspeakable suffering and distress for the most vulnerable,” United Nations Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Lebanon Najat Rochdi said at a news conference on Friday.
“Today, we estimate that more than one million Lebanese need relief assistance to cover their basic needs, including food,” he said.