Mansouri to al-Liwaa: Meetings with Saudi officials responsible for the financial sector have been very positive

Sources revealed "promising" discussions held by Lebanon's Acting BDL Governor, Wassim Mansouri, particularly with the Governor of the Saudi Central Bank.

However, Mansouri's meeting with the Saudi Central Bank Governor included a Lebanese request for Saudi support and the revitalization of joint financial investments.

This article was originally published in and translated from the Lebanese newspaper al-Liwaa.

While both sides have refrained from disclosing specifics, the results of Mansouri's visit to the Kingdom are expected to become more evident in the upcoming weeks, mainly as positivity emerged in his meetings with officials from the Arab Monetary Fund and Arab bank governors who showed interest in Lebanon's financial and banking path, which has been marred by a severe crisis for years and requires a revival starting with the enactment of reform laws.

It is known that visits will take place to Lebanon in the upcoming weeks. Preliminary agreements will be made to hold financial conferences in Beirut in the next stage, which will support the BDL in its steps to restore internal and Arab confidence in the Lebanese financial path, which has been hit by a severe crisis for years, and needs recovery that begins with the approval of reform laws.

Mansouri emphasized that "the return of deposits is not impossible," noting that depositors should not have to wait any longer, urging the swift enactment of a bank restructuring law after reevaluating its conditions to restore confidence in the banking sector.

He revealed that "Lebanon's economy has shrunk from around $55 billion to approximately $20 billion," indicating that "the crisis can only be resolved through extensive collaboration between technical, legal, and political entities."

Mansouri also announced that the BDL intends to provide a new trading platform through Bloomberg. This issue will be on the agenda of the upcoming Cabinet meeting this week. This platform will facilitate the conversion of Lebanese lira into dollars.

Responding to a question, he affirmed that Saudi Arabia consistently plays a positive role in resolving Lebanon's financial crisis but stressed that the basis for resolving the crisis lies within Lebanon, and Lebanon must complete its reform projects as soon as possible.

Mansouri stated in a phone call to "al-Liwaa" that he will return to Beirut next Thursday and that his meetings with Saudi officials responsible for the financial sector have been very positive.