Dr. Nasser Saidi appeared on BBC World Business report on 10th Aug 2020 to discuss the Beirut port explosion and how Lebanon can get of this crisis.
Dr. Saidi mentions during the interview that pledges from the Paris donor conference is presumably for humanitarian aid & will be largely insufficient for any infrastructure rebuilding efforts. A concerted macroeconomic stabilisation plan is needed, alongside an agreement with the IMF.
Talks with the IMF have been sabotaged so far: there is a resistance to reform by the political class & the banking sector. There has been no political courage in the Diab government and the time is right to bring in independent ‘technocrats’ to stand up to the political class & form a new government.
Need a clear message from the international community that the political class will be personally subject to sanctions should they not support a new govt willing to undertake reforms
Listen to the interview (from 4:30 to 8:45) at https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/w172x57q96njsxt
