Aoun: Crisis is Difficult but Lebanon Will Overcome It

President Michel Aoun assured the Lebanese on Easter Sunday that Lebanon will gradually overcome the “difficult (economic) crisis” it is passing through.

After a closed meeting he held with Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi in Bkirki, Aoun told reporters: “We are going through a crisis, and we hope it will end soon because we don’t have the privilege of time.”

However he assured that "Lebanon will be able to prosper and will gradually emerge from the difficulties it is passing through."

“It is a difficult crisis but it in nothing that we can’t overcome. We started with the electricity (plan) and the budget will be finalized soon,” he added.

Assuring that new taxes won’t be imposed on the poor, he said: “We know how and on whom to impose taxes.”

Lebanon is set to impose austerity measures to combat its bulging fiscal deficit.

It is one of the world's most indebted countries, with public debt estimated at 141 percent of gross domestic product in 2018, according to credit ratings agency Moody's.

The budget for 2019 has yet to be finalised, but public sector workers fear that austerity measures may mean cuts to their salaries.