by aawsat.com — Lebanon’s government needs to enact a rescue plan that rebuilds confidence in the economy and tackles root causes behind the country’s financial crisis, a senior International Monetary Fund official said in comments published on Wednesday. “The priority for the IMF is the need for the government to approve a rescue plan that rebuilds confidence in the Lebanese economy and helps improve the situation for citizens,” An-Nahar newspaper quoted Jihad Azour, director of the Fund’s Middle East and Central Asia Department, as saying. “And more important is the need for it to address the structural deficiencies that got the country to where it is at the economic and financial level.” A financial and economic crisis without precedent has battered Lebanon for months, halving the value of its currency, hiking prices and fueling unrest. A draft government rescue plan floated this month, which is still under debate, said that Lebanon would need $10 billion to $15 billion in foreign aid and that IMF funding could play a role.

Lebanon has sought IMF technical help but not a funding program conditional on reforms. The heavily indebted state, which defaulted on its foreign currency debt last month, has yet to decide whether it will go to the IMF, though some analysts now see this as the only way it can get aid. Finance Minister Ghazi Wani has told Reuters that the government’s plan would meet IMF recommendations. The Fund said last week it expected Lebanon’s GDP would shrink 12% in 2020. A coronavirus outbreak has also compounded woes in the country which sank deep into crisis last year after capital inflows slowed and protests erupted against the ruling elite.