BEIRUT: Lebanon's talks with the IMF are on hold pending the start of economic reforms and agreement on the Lebanese side on a common approach for calculating losses, Finance Minister Ghazi Wazni said on Friday .
Wazni will remain in contact with the IMF until the talks resume, he said in comments to al-Joumhuria newspaper that were confirmed to Reuters by official sources."What is being worked on today is defining the losses and their size in all sectors," Wazni said."We must come up with a unified approach agreed upon with all political forces and in coordination between the government and parliament.
A member of the Lebanese riot police walks near burning fire during a protest against the fall in pound currency and mounting economic hardship, in Beirut, Lebanon June 12, 2020. REUTERS/Mohamed AzakirBut the process got bogged down by a row over the scale of the financial losses that has embroiled the government, the central bank, commercial banks and MPs from Lebanon's main political parties.
A parliamentary fact-finding committee said on Wednesday losses in the system were between a quarter and half the amount set out in a government recovery plan that was submitted to the IMF.Reuters reported on Wednesday that several current and former Lebanese officials, diplomats, international officials, economists and analysts agreed that the IMF talks were going nowhere.