Khalil Says Budget Expenditures Reduced, Public Debt Stable
Finance Minister Ali Hassan Khalil said the ministerial committee's talks regarding the 2018 State budget were “consensual,” assuring that they managed to cut expenditures by more than 1,000 billion Lebanese pounds keeping the public debt unchanged, al-Joumhouria daily reported on Friday.
“Agreement on the State budget was resolved through consensual dialogue. Talks in the next 48 hrs hours will reflect this. It has become certain that the redirection in expenditures exceeded 1,000 billion Lebanese pounds,” Khalil told the daily.
According to the daily, the ministerial panel tasked with discussing the State budget manged during its meeting on Thursday to reduce the state institutions' expenses, and to maintain the budget deficit at 8,000 billion Lebanese pounds.
The panel has met to make its final assessment of the amendments made to the draft budget before it is referred to the Parliament for approval. It is scheduled to hold another meeting next week.
Prime Minister Saad Hariri has stressed that Lebanon must not allow its public debt to rise and asked state institutions to comply with his January directive to cut budgets by 20 percent.
Due to political wrangling, Lebanon was left without a State budget from 2005 until it passed one in 2017. However, it must now agree a budget for 2018.
Source: Naharnet
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