– Basma Atwi
The visit of the International Monetary Fund delegation to Lebanon on February 9 cannot be considered merely a routine or exploratory visit. Rather, it is a mission of great importance that comes in the wake of the government’s approval of the draft law to address the financial gap and its referral to Parliament.
According to an informed source, Article 113 of the Monetary and Credit Law will be a main focus of the discussions, because it obligates the state to finance the Bank of Lebanon. The Fund calls for amending this article so that this financing becomes non-obligatory for the state, and thus it does not bear additional obligations when obtaining a loan from the Fund. This trend is in line with the IMF’s plan aimed at ensuring the sustainability of public debt in Lebanon.
Gabriel: A visit to evaluate the progress made in reforms
Nassib Ghobril, head of the Research Center at Byblos Bank and an economist, agrees that the IMF delegation’s visit is important and not exploratory. He explained to “It comes within the agreement made by Prime Minister Nawaf Salam and the Executive Director of the International Monetary Fund, Kristalina Georgieva, during Salam’s participation in the Davos conference, for a delegation from the Fund to visit Lebanon to follow up on the reform process and the economic situation in Lebanon, especially after the House of Representatives approved the 2026 budget and the government draft law determining the fate of deposits (the financial gap law) and it was transferred to the House of Representatives.”
He added: “The IMF will closely review all the financial and legislative developments that have taken place, and will follow up the talks between it and the government to reach a financing-reform agreement that the government wants and has repeatedly announced its desire to do so. Note that there is no specific time for the Fund’s visits, but this visit has been agreed upon, especially since it has observations on the gap law,” noting that “this matter is normal and had previously happened after the approval of the draft banking regulation (bank restructuring) law, where they requested amendments and it made them in the The House of Representatives is waiting for the gap law to be approved, then it will be voted on, taking into account the recommendations that the IMF will give, and the amendment to the bank restructuring law that was approved in July 2025 at the same time.”
Gabriel confirms that “this visit is different, because the draft gap law was approved by the government, and the 2026 budget was approved, and the IMF delegation called it, during its visit to Lebanon in September 2025, an unambitious budget and it was expected that there would be a surplus of 1.7 percent of the gross domestic product.” He explained, “This visit is not under the fourth item, which concludes with a detailed statement and forecasts for economic growth and an assessment of the performance of public finances. Rather, there is a delegation from the Fund that will follow up on the situation in Lebanon and evaluate the steps achieved that enable the signing of an agreement between Lebanon and the IMF.”
