by naharnet.com — Prime Minister Hassan Diab said on Thursday that his government will go ahead and seek financial assistance from the International Monetary Fund based on an economic and financial reform plan approved earlier in the day. In an address to the nation, Diab described the plan adopted unanimously by the Cabinet as a comprehensive “roadmap” for dealing with the country’s spiraling financial crisis, the worst since the 1975-90 civil war. “Today, I can say that we are going the right way to pull Lebanon out of its deep financial crisis,” he said. International donors have long demanded that Lebanon institute major economic changes and anti-corruption measures to unlock billions in pledges made in 2018. “We want contributions from the fancy interests that were paid, from those who reaped profit from financial engineering operations and from those who violated the law and stole pubic funds,” Diab said. “The plan will restructure the banking and financial sectors…, decrease the current account deficit to 5.6 percent and achieve a return to positive growth as of 2022,” he added. Noting that the government will seek “more than $10 billion in foreign aid,” Diab said the plan calls for “the instant implementation of the long-awaited reforms.” “I call on all Lebanese to consider today a turning point for the future of our country,” he said. “The central bank must address the spike in the US dollar exchange rate, because it is responsible for the national currency’s stability,” Diab suggested.