Lebanese monetary stability and employment security addressed in governmental meeting

During the governmental meeting, which included the Caretaker Prime Minister, Najib Mikati, the Finance Minister, Youssef Khalil, and the Acting Governor of Banque du Liban, Wassim Mansouri, an agreement was reached to secure the interests of the state on the one hand and to avoid affecting mandatory employment and the current monetary stability on the other.

Furthermore, some sources stated that during the meeting, Mansouri was briefed on revenue figures in both Lebanese pounds and dollars, noting an increase in their ratio.

Mansouri also encouraged the PM and the Ministry of Finance to activate revenue collection in Lebanese pounds.

He explained that this approach would enable BDL to use traditional cash methods to purchase dollars from the market without impacting the mandatory reserves. These dollars could then be used to support essential sectors, including public sector salaries in dollars.

Moreover, Mansouri stipulated that the supported sectors must be those that do not spend or transfer their dollars abroad.

In this context, the same sources stressed that Electricité du Liban (EDL) is considered, through its revenue collection process, as contributing to this initiative.

However, the challenge lies in accurately determining the revenue collection percentage. Additionally, BDL is not prepared to bear any losses resulting from converting EDL's Lebanese pounds into dollars at a low rate. Most of EDL's dollars are converted for fuel, operations, and maintenance and transferred out of Lebanon.

For his part, Finance Minister Khalil confirmed the continuation of communication with the Acting Governor and the deputies of the Central Bank. He also confirmed that efforts are ongoing to find a solution to the issue of paying salaries and wages for the public sector before the end of the current month.