Lebanon's finance minister says there will be a new deal with IMF

Lebanese Finance Minister Yassine Jaber said on Wednesday there would be a new deal between his country and the International Monetary Fund, according to a statement released by the Finance Ministry after a meeting with a visiting IMF mission.

Jaber said the meeting with Ernesto Ramirez Rigo, the head of the IMF mission visiting Lebanon, was "good" and "saw transparency".

Lebanon has been in deep economic crisis since 2019, when its financial system collapsed under the weight of state debts, prompting a sovereign default in 2020 and freezing ordinary depositors out of their savings in the banking system.

Beirut reached a draft funding deal with the IMF in 2022 - contingent on reforms that authorities failed to deliver.

"I expressed the Lebanese government's determination to carry out all necessary reforms. Not because someone asked us to but because the country needs such reforms," Jaber said.

He did not disclose details of the deal but said the government was tasked with outlining a new plan with the Washington-based lender.

He said the government presented its priorities in the upcoming period to the IMF, including appointing a central bank governor.

The IMF would visit Lebanon again in early April if a new central bank governor is appointed, Jaber said.

He said further talks would be held with the IMF on Thursday in Lebanon.