Naharnet

Hariri Discusses with ِABL Delegation US Visit, Sanctions on Hizbullah

Prime Minister Saad Hariri received a delegation from the Association of Banks in Lebanon (ABL) where talks touched on several issues including the US sanctions on Hizbullah, Hariri's media office said.

The delegation was headed by Joseph Torbey who said after the meeting: “We discussed several issues with Prime Minister Hariri, including his upcoming visit to the United States.

"We also briefed him on the latest information we have regarding the subject of the sanctions discussed by the US congress.”

“We informed him that during our previous visits to Washington we created a positive atmosphere regarding the protection of the banking sector. Thus, his visit will be very important because he represents the state and is accompanied by an official delegation. In this regard, the State can give and take commitments and we place high hopes on the success on this visit,” added Torbey.

Lebanon's new state budget was also discussed, and the delegation asserted the need “to exert pressure so the budget deficit does not increase, as it reached levels that must be treated with caution.”

“The Prime minister carries this file and we are all in one boat and must cooperate to reach the suitable solutions because the future of the Lebanese economy depends on the sound management of public finance, particularly controlling expenditures and improving revenues,” Torbey told the PM.

Amid renewed congressional efforts to tighten sanctions on Hizbullah, delegations of Lebanese politicians and bankers traveled to Washington in May in an attempt to minimize the impact of any new sanctions on the Lebanese banking sector.

A draft amendment known as the Hizbullah International Financing Prevention Amendment Act of 2017, which has not yet been formally proposed in the US Congress, would tighten financial regulations on Lebanese banks and extend scrutiny to Hizbullah allies in order to screen for any illicit funding to groups linked to Hizbullah, which the United States, Israel, the Arab League, and others have designated as a terrorist organization.

Source: Naharnet


Copyright © 2012 Naharnet.com. All Rights Reserved. https://www.naharnet.com/stories/en/232720