Lebanon barely sustains with crippling economy but is there any hope for revival
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Salma Hossein
- . November 11, 2021
- . Update: November 11, 2021 5:40 pm
Lebanon–Rough patches surrounding the progress of Lebanon see no end as the country’s economy continues to cripple amid rising fears of shortage of basic necessities in coming days. It is only a matter of time when the nation will be damaged beyond repair and as things are proceeding, it seems that Lebanon indeed is waiting for a full blown collapse.
Since the last two years, concerns regarding the dearding economy of the nation was what kept discussion going but now, the matter has further worsened as the issues are no more limited to money or economy but have taken a political downturn.
No doubt that the reason why Lebanon’s economy went for a toss was the corrupt leaders in the political sphere but there always seemed to have hope of recovering from the downfall after the electoral shift. But now, even that every picture is cera to the international bodies.
Be it the International Monetary Fund or the World Bank, they are well aware that Lebanon cannot be trusted when it comes to finances as the leaders who are handling it are either corrupt to the very core or are barely eligible to hold the position. We can identify this by the recent row that had hit the nation involving the Finance Minister.
The government official had reportedly made some hurtful comments targeting Saudi Arabia where he also stressed that Riyadh was responsible for the situation in Yemen. This made many Arab nations furious and in no time, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait summoned their ambassadors for Lebanon.
Whatever the intentions were, making such irresponsible comments with its own neighbours can prove to be an expensive affair for the country. What Lebanon needs is a diplomatic team which handles its affairs with professionalism and does not go dirty trying to create rift politics.
Above everything, the only thing that can save Lebanon at present are the relations it has with other nations or else other elements will not be able to trust the nation’s leadership to run the country effectively and hence it will lead to them backing out from place. If the situation is to be assessed right now, it becomes evident that the country has gone into a free fall which may further lead to a complete collapse.
It has essentially happened because there is nothing that is being done to save the country from going deep into the pit. The currency has lost more than 90 percent of its value in the last two years and Lebanon was given numerous opportunities to save itself from the mess but it did not act on the brief.
Beirut, the capital city, has recently endured periods of 24 hours without electricity. Experts say that this is merely the start of something worse to come. The problems do not end here. Involvement of foregn elements, militia groups and more is deteriorating the matter. The kind of dominance Hezbollah has in the country takes it further away from being a part of the Arab league or even joining Abraham Accords.
Abraham Accords should be the first step for the Arab nation to help it build trust on western beneficiaries especially the United States. This loyalty is being questioned because of the heavy terro presence in the nation.
The only way out for Lebanon is by taking a stand against extremism and following a diplomatic route. Instead of convincing western partners with words, it should focus on building relations with its neighbours. A small progress path is what the country needs so that it can further translate into a long term goal as things keep working out for the nation.
