Today, Tuesday, the Lebanese Hezbollah movement opposed allowing the International Monetary Fund to manage the financial crisis, in a sign of rejecting any rescue loan from the fund, which would then impose harsh conditions on the heavily indebted country.
Hezbollah is one of the main parties supporting the new government in Beirut, which is facing an unprecedented crisis.
Today, the government has appointed Global Investment Company "Lazard" and the law firm, "Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton" as its financial and legal advisors, in a widely expected sovereign debt restructuring.
"We do not accept that we are subject to innovative tools in treatment ... I mean, we do not accept submission to the International Monetary Fund to manage the crisis," said Naeem Kassem, deputy secretary general of the party. He added, "Yes, there is no objection to providing consultations, and this is what the Lebanese government is doing."
For his part, Stephen Richold, portfolio manager at Stone Harbor Investment Partners, which holds some Lebanese international bonds, commented that "Hezbollah is strongly opposed to the IMF, which makes the situation very difficult, and means that Lebanon will have to reach a point where the situation becomes bad for a longer period." ".
On the other hand, the International Monetary Fund said today that a team of its experts had held over five days "valuable and fruitful" talks with the Lebanese authorities regarding their plans to deal with the challenges of debt and the economy, and that it was ready to provide further technical advice.