Cabinet Approves Economic Rescue Plan

The Lebanese government on Thursday approved a long-awaited plan to rescue the debt-saddled economy from its worst crisis in decades, following a fresh wave of angry streets protests.

The government unanimously approved the economic plan after minor amendments, the presidency said on Twitter following a cabinet meeting at the presidential palace in Baabda.

After the cabinet meeting, Information Minister Manal Abdel Samad said the "main purpose of the plan is to start negotiations with creditors abroad."

The information minister dismissed reports that the government would remove the decades-old peg of the Lebanese pound against the dollar, even as the currency has tumbled on the black market.

U.N. envoy to Lebanon Jan Kubis applauded the government for approving the plan, calling it "an important step towards reforms and dealing with the existential crisis."

President Michel Aoun called it a "historic day" for Lebanon.

"It is the first time the government approves an economic-financial plan after the country was almost driven to ruin because of the lack of planning," he said in comments carried by the official National News Agency.

Prime Minister Hassan Diab said that the "practical plan that includes an economic vision for the future of Lebanon" will put the country back on track.