Yassine Jaber
In 2010 I believe we will see more growth in 2010 and assuming the conditions remain stable Lebanon can realize its potential. Lebanon is a major center for the Arab region and the Arab countries provide the largest amount of tourism to Lebanon . The banking sector has been flourishing and proven itself successful while achieving growth in its deposits.
Interview with Yassine Jaber, Former Minister of Economy and Public Works and MP
The Institute of International Finance (IIF) revised upward its estimate for economic growth in Lebanon to 8.7% in 2009. What is your overall assessment of the economic climate in Lebanon and is such growth sustainable on a long term basis?
In 2009 Lebanon effectively saw huge amounts of growth. When looking at the Lebanese economy you can’t look just at local activity because there is a lot of international activity due to the diaspora. These people always send money back to Lebanon to invest and I think the key to growth has been Lebanese expatriates in various parts of the world. In 2010 I believe we will see more growth in 2010 and assuming the conditions remain stable Lebanon can realize its potential. Lebanon is a major center for the Arab region and the Arab countries provide the largest amount of tourism to Lebanon . The banking sector has been flourishing and proven itself successful while achieving growth in its deposits. We are a unique country in that aspect because our total deposits are almost 3.5 times our GDP and this fuels Lebanon’s growth, even in the midst of a crisis.
In your opinion what specific measures can be taken to help direct the Lebanese economy?
I think we need more decisive decision making by the government. We need to improve services in the country too. The past political struggles in the country and the region have made us late in started major infrastructure project. Electricity, water, and other infrastructure projects need to be addressed immediately. The government has declared its priorities recently to deal with these issues.
How do you view the prospects for pursuing this agenda with this current government?
I think we are looking toward more involvement with private sector and the public sector. Private Public Partnerships will soon be addressed and this will allow more projects to be undertaken. This will be a way for the country to advance because the private sector is very vibrant and full of talent while there is a surplus of cash available in the national banks as well.
Lebanon’s public debt is more than 49.5 billion dollars and is expected to reach 53 billion. What are the main challenges in the Lebanese economy?
“After what has happened world wide I don’t think
the public debt in Lebanon is as threatening. The foreign
debt percentage is around 45% and our gold reserves are
at 11 billion dollars and nothing has been privatized
yet in the country.”
What remains the greatest challenge for the Lebanese economy?
To have continuous stability because this has always been a problem due to the volatile region. The more stability we see in the region the more stable Lebanon will be able to stay. If we have this Lebanon will do very well but we have seen an improvement in stability as of lately.
Lebanon is in a politically complex region and is also politically complex itself. To what extent to you see this situation improving?
Democratic elections took place in Iraq and the more we can see a stable government there then the whole region will also improve. We hope that the new American administration can be effective in pushing forward the peace process and I think the key to stability in this region will be a solution to the Arab-Israeli conflict. In Lebanon the National Unity Government has been clear that they are in agreement and dealing with existing issues so the situation is doing well internally. However, the government needs to make choices regarding the economy.
What is your final message about Lebanon?
Lebanon has shown its ability to persevere through many challenges and proven it is a good place to do business. There is a lot of potential to be realized here and I invite everyone to come and see this.Under the guidance of the World Bank, the government of Lebanon has recently made noticeable efforts to reduce the amount of red tape in the public sector to streamline business processes and encourage foreign investment in the country . What is your overall assessment of the economy ?