Naharnet

Aoun Meets Berri and Hariri in Baabda over Budget Protests

President Michel Aoun, Speaker Nabih Berri and Prime Minister Saad Hariri held a meeting Monday evening at the Baabda Palace, amid a growing crisis related to proposed austerity measures.

Information obtained by TV networks said discussions were supposed to tackle "an agreement on the state budget, addressing protests and strikes, and finding a formula whose responsibility would be shouldered by the three parties."

An open-ended strike by the employees of the central bank has sparked fears of cash and fuel shortage crises in the country.

The Beirut Stock Exchange has also suspended trading, saying the clearance and settlement of transactions cannot be done on time "during the period of open strike."

Central bank employees say they are protesting a decision to slash their benefits as part of a new austerity package being studied by Cabinet ahead of this year's budget.

Other public sector employees have resorted to similar measures against possible austerity measures in recent weeks.

Cabinet met on Monday to discuss the package.

Lebanon has vowed to slash public spending to unlock $11 billion worth of aid pledged by international donors during an April 2018 conference in Paris.

Last month, Prime Minister Saad Hariri vowed to introduce "the most austere budget in Lebanon's history" to combat the country's bulging fiscal deficit, sparking fears among public sector employees that their salaries may be cut.

Lebanon is one of the world's most indebted countries, with public debt estimated at 141 percent of GDP in 2018, according to credit ratings agency Moody's.

Source: Naharnet


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