Cabinet agrees state budget

The Cabinet approved the draft state budget on Friday and a session to formally seal it will be held at the Baabda Presidential Palace, government ministers said.
 
"All the clauses and articles have been agreed on," Finance Minister Ali Hassan said after a cabinet meeting.
 
The information minister said in a news conference the draft budget cut the deficit to 7.5% of GDP from 11.5% in 2018. "Now, praise God, we are done. The budget is complete," Information Minister Jamal Jarrah said.
 
The budget is seen as a critical test of the government's determination to make changes that have been put off for years by a state riddled with corruption and waste. Lebanon has one of the heaviest public debt burdens in the world.
 
The budget could help unlock some $11 billion in financing pledged at a Paris donors' conference last year for infrastructure investment, if it wins the approval of donors along with other reforms.