IMF: Lebanon Needs More Work To Reduce Debts

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has said Lebanon has not made much-needed efforts to reduce the country’s debt after a significant drop in economic growth, Reuters has reported.

For the past five years, rapid economic growth has helped the country’s debt to fall significantly as a percentage of gross domestic product, from 167.7% in 2007 to 134.3% last year, but GDP growth has plummeted from 7% in 2010 to 1.5% last year, in part reflecting the turmoil in neighbouring Syria.

“Infrastructure and investments are long overdue, as are reforms in the business environment,” IMF deputy managing director, Nemat Shafik said.