Khalil urges quick approval of World Bank loans, grants
Oct. 22, 2015 | 12:11 AM
Dana Halawi| The Daily Star
BEIRUT: Finance Minister Ali Hasan Khalil Wednesday reiterated his call to convene Parliament in order to pass World Bank loans and grants as well as other important bills.
“We should make a quick step in approving all laws that affect the financial and economic situation of the country in addition to those that have direct impact on citizens’ lives,” he said at a conference at Phoenicia Hotel.
Organized by the Union of Arab banks, the conference aimed at discussing the key elements of a national strategy and an action plan for improving economic and financial capabilities in Lebanon.
Khalil emphasized the need to reactivate the work of Parliament while calling upon the government to assume its responsibilities toward citizens on all levels.
Khalil has warned on numerous occasions that Lebanon might risk losing millions of dollars in foreign loans – the majority from the World Bank – as a result of parliamentary paralysis and its failure to approve on necessary laws to access these loans.
“Speeding up the work of the institutions, especially the parliament, is no longer a political luxury but it is a necessary step to be taken in a bid to preserve the image of the government in the eyes of citizens and the international community,” he said.
Khalil added that the activation of Parliament’s work would facilitate the implementation of the different strategies in the country.
Khalil also emphasized the need to raise awareness about financial issues in a bid to be more capable to confront challenges facing Lebanon in this arena. “Every ministry has duties and responsibilities to revitalize institutions and this is what the ministry of finance has been doing by committing to laws while adopting transparency and accountability in all its work,” he said.
Khalil said an advanced knowledge in financial matters not only protects individuals but also financial institutions and all political leaders.
His comments were echoed by Fadi Yarak, director general of the ministry of education, who said that this era is witnessing an increase in the use of financial products offered by banks, financial markets and stock exchanges and the lack of advanced knowledge about these products and ways to use them lead to huge losses.
“This is why the youths must be encouraged to increase their financial and economic culture to benefit as much as possible from these products without using them in a wrong way,” added Yarak, who was representing Education Minister Elias Abou Saab.
Yarak said the Bassil Fuleihan Institute organized training sessions, in cooperation with the Higher Education Ministry to provide high school students with the needed and required knowledge in economy and finance to meet the scientific evolution in these fields.
Likewise, Joseph Torbey, president of the Association of Banks in Lebanon, called on Parliament to convene and approve draft laws to maintain Lebanon’s good image with the international community.
Torbey said Lebanon is no longer on the list of noncooperative states in money laundering but it has not yet legislated international treaties already signed by over 100 countries.
“This measure should take place as soon as possible because Lebanon has in the past gone through many difficulties in modifying its financial legislations to gain the trust of the international community,” he said.
