Lebanese Prime Minister Hassan Diab urged on Thursday European countries to provide Lebanon with financial support amid the current deteriorating situation in a bid to protect the country’s stability, the National News Agency reported.
“Lebanon is in urgent need for support in all areas including electricity, food and raw materials, and medicine. Our country urges Europe to help in securing these items to protect social stability,” Diab was quoted as saying during his meeting with ambassadors from the European Union at the Grand Serail.
Diab said he is sure that Europe is keen to keep Lebanon stable because any chaos in the country will likely impact all European countries.
The prime minister also noted that Lebanon has put in place a strategy aimed at implementing all reform measures imposed by CEDRE Conference in 2018 to unlock 11 billion U.S. dollars in aid and loans.
Lebanon has witnessed in the past few months a shortage in the U.S. dollar currency caused by economic slowdown and the drop in cash injections from Lebanese abroad, reducing the central bank’s foreign currency reserves and leading to a shortage in dollar for businesses and individuals.
Hence, banks put restrictions on withdrawals of depositors and their transfers from Lebanon to other countries creating a huge crisis for local businesses who rely mainly on import in their operations.
As a result, thousands of businesses had to shut their doors down leading to the layoff of thousands of employees.
In parallel, Lebanon’s security situation has seen moments of instability following the beginning of nationwide protests aimed at overhauling the current political system.
XINHUA
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