October 12, 2026
The annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank Group kicked off today in the Thai capital, Bangkok, with high-level Lebanese official participation, headed by Finance Minister Yassine Jaber. The official delegation includes the Minister of Economy and Trade, Amer Al-Bassat, the Governor of the Bank of Lebanon, Karim Saeed, and the Advisor to the Presidency of the Republic, Rawaa Al-Harati, in addition to a delegation from the Ministry of Finance, which includes the Director General of Finance, George Maarawi, and the advisors, Zeina Kassem and Claudine Karaki. The delegation’s program of meetings continues until Friday, October 16, to discuss Lebanon’s financial and economic priorities, the path of reforms, and ways to obtain technical and financial support from international institutions and partners.
The Lebanese delegation’s agenda includes extensive participation, most notably the meetings of the Group of Twenty-Four, the Development Committee, and the plenary session of the annual meetings, as well as the meeting of Arab governors with the President of the World Bank Group, during which Minister Jaber will deliver an official intervention. The program also includes meetings with officials from the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, and the International Finance Corporation, in addition to discussions on development cooperation, human capital, and financing skills in the era of artificial intelligence.
Minister Jaber began his meetings on the first day with an expanded meeting with the Executive Director of the World Bank Group and Lebanon’s representative on the Board of Executive Directors, Abdulaziz Al-Mulla, with the participation of the accompanying ministers and officials and Al-Mulla’s advisor, Wafa Sharaf Al-Din. The meeting discussed the path of financial and banking reforms, especially the legal frameworks to address the conditions of banks and restore financial order, in addition to following up on the road map with the International Monetary Fund and enhancing coordination with the World Bank.
Discussions focused on regional integration and connectivity projects in the fields of electricity, gas, solar energy, energy exchange, railways and transportation. The importance of involving Syria, Iraq and Jordan in a joint vision that supports economic recovery opportunities in Lebanon during the next three years was stressed. The attendees also discussed the preparation of a comprehensive directive plan that includes a special chapter on productive sectors, to form the basis for a financing program that attracts donors and meets investment needs in the energy, water, and infrastructure sectors during the next decade in partnership between the government and private sectors.
The two sides concluded the meeting by agreeing to intensify follow-up through periodic technical meetings, aiming to transform these trends into an implementable action plan, coupled with specific priorities and financing and follow-up mechanisms, which contributes to translating investment opportunities into actual projects that move the wheel of the economy and create new job opportunities.
