Will Lebanon succeed in restoring its economy?

Finance Minister Yassin Jaber expressed hope that "the negotiations would lead to a halt of Israeli aggressions on Lebanon, so that the state can complete the path it has begun to revive the economy again, and to initiate activating contacts with friendly countries and donor entities that have shown readiness to contribute to reconstruction."

Jaber said, during a meeting with a group of university students from various finance and economics specializations, whom he met in his office: "We have received promises of assistance during the contacts we made, whether with countries abroad or with specialized bodies and institutions, and we have a duty to follow up on them through readiness mobilized by all constitutional state institutions, the government and the parliament, through procedures and laws that encourage donors and lenders and are characterized by the highest standards of transparency, and ensure proper implementation and preserve the rights of beneficiaries."

He pointed out that "the losses caused by the aggression exceed Lebanon's ability to bear them due to the economic contraction and recession it caused," but he believed that "recovery will not be impossible once the war stops and stability is achieved, due to a set of factors starting with the individual will of the Lebanese citizen eager to quickly return to his land and livelihood despite all the tragedies that have befallen it, and ending with private initiatives where the active and effective private sector emerges, and the state's determination not to leave any opportunity with any entity capable of helping without benefiting from it."

He stressed that "an economy the size of Lebanon's economy should not make us pessimistic about restoring its revival," saying: "If political and security stability are the cornerstone of any growth, then plans based on the capabilities of reality and ambition, supported by laws, and standards of good employment in investment movement, under the umbrella of oversight titled effective accountability and reckoning, will restore the international community's confidence in state institutions, and will put our country on the track towards a solid economy."

He concluded: "Based on this goal, we must establish an effective banking system that first restores people's confidence, foremost among them depositors, so that this sector regains the confidence of old and then new depositors, and the confidence of investors, and hence we must expedite the approval of the draft law amending the Bank Restructuring Law and begin studying the Financial Gap Law, which must take into account preserving rights and the integrity of private and public funds, and the integrity of currency and fortify the value of the national currency so that losses do not accumulate additional losses, and relaunch banking operations."

Board of Directors of the Housing Bank

Minister Jaber had met with the Chairman of the Board of the Housing Bank, Antoine Habib, and members of the board who visited him in his office at the ministry to thank him for the cooperation between the ministry and the bank. He stressed before them "that our ambition should be that no citizen be deprived of a legitimate home that shelters him, whether those whose homes were destroyed or damaged due to the war or in any area far from targeting, by finding a housing policy capable of responding to all social classes," reiterating "the Ministry of Finance's readiness to assist in any vision or plan that leads to achieving this ambitious policy."

Habib presented Minister Jaber with a shield as a token of thanks for the support he receives from Minister Jaber towards the bank in order to expand and develop its services.