Khalil: I Fulfilled My Mission and Submitted Budget to PM

Finance Minister Ali Hassan Khalil has submitted the 2019 final draft state budget to Prime Minister Saad Hariri, which awaits the approval of the Cabinet.

A meeting was held between Hariri and Khalil and lasted for two hours during which the final review of the draft budget was completed, al-Joumhouria daily reported on Wednesday.

“I have made the final revision of the budget with Prime Minister Hariri, awaiting for the PM to determine the appropriate time to study it in the Cabinet after a series of contacts and consultations,” Khalil told the daily.

The Minister added: “The budget is realistic, integrated and feasible. It’s not exaggerated, neither in reducing expenditures nor in increasing revenues.”

“We have conducted the required review of the cuts, an estimate of revenues and the drafting of legal amendments. We are in the final stage of discussing them within the Cabinet, waiting for some of the consultations that Hariri will have before including it on the agenda," added the Minister.

“I as the Finance Minister have finished my mission, printed the budget and submitted it to the Prime Minister,” he concluded.