Lebanese government approves budget amid economic meltdown

Lebanon’s government has approved the state budget for the current year, with a 17% deficit

BEIRUT -- Lebanon’s government approved Thursday the state budget for the current year, with a 17% deficit, the prime minister said. He described the development as a first step in reforms desperately needed in the crisis-hit country.

The budget will now be sent to parliament for discussion and once lawmakers approve, it will go into effect. A two-day parliament session on the budget has been scheduled for Feb. 21.

For more than two years, Lebanon has been undergoing its worst economic crisis and the newly appointed government has done little to stem the meltdown. Talks with the International Monetary Fund have failed to make progress amid deep disagreements between the government, the central bank and the banking sector.

Prime Minister Najib Mikati told reporters after a Cabinet meeting Thursday that the budget projects spending of 47 trillion Lebanese pounds (about $2.24 billion, according to the exchange rate on the parallel market in Lebanon), while revenues stand at 39 trillion pounds ($1.86 billion), with a deficit of about 17%.