Ortagus has 'big plan' to get Lebanon out of economic crisis

Deputy U.S. Envoy for the Middle East Morgan Ortagus has a plan to get Lebanon out of its economic crisis, the diplomat said at an Economic Forum in Qatar.

"The International Monetary Fund is not the only choice," Ortagus said, adding that she has a big plan for Lebanon and a vision that allows Lebanon to become a country of investments and maybe then it would not even need the IMF loan.

"If we can turn Lebanon into an investment country, we can use the investors' money and spare it further debt," she said, adding that "reforms are very important."

In February the IMF said it was open to a new loan agreement with Lebanon following discussions with its recently-appointed finance minister.

The previous caretaker administration did not enact reforms the IMF had demanded to implement a loan package to save the collapsed economy.

The world lender "welcomed the authorities' request for a new IMF-supported program to bolster their efforts in addressing Lebanon's significant economic challenges", the IMF said in a statement.

Lebanon's economic crisis has pushed most of the population below the poverty line, according to the United Nations.

International donors including the IMF have called on the Lebanese authorities to implement major reforms, including restructuring the banking sector, in order to unlock funding.

In April 2022, Lebanon and the IMF reached conditional agreement on a $3-billion-dollar loan package but painful reforms that the 46-month financing program would require have not been undertaken.

Ortagus also called at the Qatar conference for the full disarmament of Hezbollah, "not just south of the Litani."