Beirut: Lebanon’s parliament approved the country’s first budget in more than a decade, restoring control over state finances and easing a long-standing political deadlock that has stifled development.
After three days of deliberations, 61 members of parliament voted to pass the budget while four voted against and eight abstained, state-run National News Agency reported late Thursday.
The budget includes 23.7 trillion Lebanese pounds ($15.7 billion ) of spending this year, compared to 22.6 trillion pounds in 2016, according to the Finance Ministry. Revenue is expected at 16.38 trillion pounds, up from 14.96 trillion pounds, and the deficit is forecast to narrow to 7.28 trillion pounds from 7.45 trillion pounds. The budget also contains anti-corruption measures.
Lawmakers reaching an agreement on spending is a positive sign for investors, said Sami Nader, head of the Beirut-based Levant Institute for Strategic Affairs. “The more the country is heading toward good governance, the lower its risk,” he said.
The budget may also help unlock international funds aimed at helping Lebanon cope with the influx of 1.5 million refugees from neighbouring Syria, where the civil war has weighed on Lebanon’s economy and forced the closing of trade routes. Growth is forecast to remain unchanged at 2 per cent in 2017, according to the World Bank, with the ratio of debt to gross domestic product reaching 155 per cent by the end of the year.
GN
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