Lebanon says economy turning page but reforms needed

Lebanon's economy minister has said that the country was turning the page to growth after years of crisis but called for greater reforms.

Lebanon expects five percent growth this year, the highest since 2011, Economy Minister Amer Bisat said Thursday as he attended fall meetings of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank.

The World Bank in June estimated 4.7 percent in inflation-adjusted GDP growth for 2025.

"We are happy that finally, after years and years of no growth, we are finally seeing some growth, but this is not the kind of sustainable growth we want," Bisat told the Atlantic Council think tank on the sidelines of the annual meetings.

He alluded to the decision by Lebanon's long-fragile central government to move to disarm Hezbollah, under pressure from the United States after Israel carried out a major military operation against the group.

Bisat said Lebanon had been a "country where the sovereignty of the state became questionable" and that a stronger state should boost confidence for businesses.

He called for a series of reforms including reorienting public spending toward services and infrastructure and reforming the civil service, where even senior employees are "shockingly badly paid."

Lebanon has been in discussions with the IMF, which last month praised the country's fiscal and monetary decisions but called for "a more ambitious approach" to budgetary pressure, voicing concern about a withdraw of taxes on fuel.

Bisat insisted that Lebanon was not instituting reforms to please the IMF, saying, "Nobody is going to impose any conditions on us."

"We're doing what's good for us," he said.

But he pointed to elections due early next year, saying, "That always makes policy more difficult."