Aoun Chairs Meeting on Lebanon's Talks with IMF

President Michel Aoun on Monday chaired a financial meeting at the presidential palace in Baabda.

A statement issued after the meeting said the conferees "discussed the numbers related to the financial and banking sector."

"They agreed that the numbers in the government's reform plan should be a valid groundwork for continuing the negotiations with the International Monetary Fund," the statement said.

Discrepancies had recently surfaced in the numbers presented by the Finance Ministry and the central bank.

The meeting was attended by Prime Minister Hassab Diab, Finance Minister Ghazi Wazni, Central Bank Governor Riad Salameh, Presidency Director General Antoine Choucair, Finance Ministry Director General Alain Bifani and the advisers Charbel Kordahi, Georges Chalhoub, Henri Chaoul and Talal Salman.

It was preceded by a closed-door meeting between Aoun and Diab.