Salam responds to Geagea regarding Rajji, financial reforms

Prime Minister Nawaf Salam has responded to criticism from Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea as to perceived sidelining of Foreign Minister Youssef Rajji by saying that “the constitution stipulates that the Council of Ministers is the one that sets the government’s general policy in all fields, including foreign policy, while each minister is responsible for managing the affairs of their ministry and implementing this policy within their powers.”

“Hence, the foreign policy of the Lebanese state is not the policy of a person or ministry in isolation from the government,” Salam noted.

“The formation of official delegations and the participation of ministers in foreign visits are determined according to the nature and schedule of each visit” and “I am in constant coordination and cooperation with His Excellency Minister Raji in everything related to foreign policy,” the premier pointed out.

He added: “In this context, and as the Foreign Minister knows, he is scheduled to accompany me to the meetings of the next session of the United Nations General Assembly, as required by the nature of the mission and the meetings expected during it.”

“I also asked him to participate with me later in the meeting that I will hold with the U.S. Secretary of State in Washington,” Salam said.

As to financial reforms, Salam noted that in less than a year of its work, the government has completed the preparation of three basic reform projects in this field, which are laws related to banking secrecy, banking reform, and what is known as the financial gap.

He also reassured that the government is in almost daily contact with the International Monetary Fund to speed up reaching an agreement, noting that “there is no procrastination, procrastination or delay on our part.”

In a speech commemorating the “Martyrs of the Lebanese Resistance,” Geagea had criticized the government’s “slow pace of work” particularly concerning “the necessary financial laws, especially those related to recovering deposits, restoring confidence, and relaunching the banking sector.”

“The current government is certainly not responsible for the paralysis of the banking sector, but it is also abnormal that more than a year and a half has passed since its formation, and confusion still reigns, with depositors still waiting for a clear answer about the fate of their funds, while the economy and the banking sector pay the price of this delay daily,” Geagea noted.

As for Rajji, he said: “Who can explain to us what kind of state with functioning institutions is this where the president or prime minister do not take the foreign minister with them on their foreign visits, the very minister responsible for all matters related to foreign relations?”