Lebanese Prime Minister Calls On World Leaders To Help Resolve Economic Crisis - Reports

Lebanese Prime Minister Calls on World Leaders to Help Resolve Economic Crisis - Reports

Lebanon's outgoing Prime Minister Saad Hariri on Friday sent letters to a number of state leaders asking to help the Middle Eastern country address its worst economic crisis since the early 1990s, local media reported

BEIRUT (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 06th December, 2019) Lebanon's outgoing Prime Minister Saad Hariri on Friday sent letters to a number of state leaders asking to help the Middle Eastern country address its worst economic crisis since the early 1990s, local media reported.

The letters were sent to Saudi Arabia's King Salman bin Abdul Aziz, French President Emmanuel Macron, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Sisi, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Chinese Prime Minister Li Keqiang, Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte and US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, according to the Lebanese Mustaqbal Web newspaper.

The economic and financial situation in Lebanon continues to deteriorate.

The banking sector has been suffering shortages in currency, financial transfers to foreign accounts have been suspended and the issuance of dollars was limited to $1,000 per week. Private business owners have begun refusing to accept payment by bank transfer, instead demanding cash. At the same time, the pound to dollar exchange rate for the first time in 30 years began to fluctuate on the black market about two months ago and has reached the level of 2,000-2,100 Lebanese pounds per dollar, while the Central Bank continues to maintain the previous exchange rate of 1,515 pounds.