The Lebanese cabinet approved Monday the 2019 draft budget in its final form and referred to the parliament.
Following the session, Finance Minister Ali Hassan Khalil explained that the budget was approved as it is, with the same numbers approved during the sessions held at the Grand Serail, noting that the deficit has been reduced to 7.59%.
He added that the country stands before an exceptional turning point in terms of reducing expenses and raising income, pointing out that the expenses reached 23340 billion LBP and 2500 billion LBP in advance for the electricity sector.
The minister stressed that all the rumors about reducing the salaries and affecting the rights of the servicemen and the Lebanese University are not real, revealing that an amount of 40 billion LBP has been allocated to the Ministry of the Displaced, within the framework of the efforts deployed to close this file.
In the same context, Hassan Khalil stated that the issue of the army measure number 3 will be discussed by the Higher Defense Council, reiterating that the cabinet did not approach this matter.
The finance minister also mentioned that decisions and recommendations were taken in order to put into effect a series of measures related to controlling the customs.