The central bank of Lebanon’s Governor, Riad Salameh, gave an exclusive interview to leading French publication Paris Match, in which he explained that the central bank is not the cause of the problems that Lebanon is facing and that the country is better able to tackle its challenges thanks to the actions that the bank has taken.
The Governor commented: “The monetary policy carried out has for a long time kept interest rates low while the country’s debt has increased from year to year. The system was viable provided that fundamental political reforms were carried out in parallel. Today, despite the default, despite the recession caused by the epidemic of Coronavirus, Lebanon is not bankrupt. Products arrive on the markets, the prices of gasoline, medicines, flour have not changed. Having sufficient reserves to finance essential imports into the country proves that we have done our job in a professional manner. Otherwise there would be no more bank, no more money.”
Caroline Mangez’s full interview with Riad Salameh can be found in the current edition of Paris Match.
