Lebanon’s Mikati Expresses Hope of IMF Accord in Weeks

Lebanon's Prime Minister-Designate Najib Mikati speaks after meeting with Lebanon's President Michel Aoun, at the presidential palace in Baabda, Lebanon August 16, 2021. (Dalati Nohra)

Asharq Al Awsat

10:55-26 March 2022 AD ـ 22 Sha’ban 1443 AH

Asharq Al Awsat

10:55-26 March 2022 AD ـ 22 Sha’ban 1443 AH

Lebanon’s Mikati Expresses Hope of IMF Accord in Weeks

Lebanon's Prime Minister-Designate Najib Mikati speaks after meeting with Lebanon's President Michel Aoun, at the presidential palace in Baabda, Lebanon August 16, 2021. (Dalati Nohra)

A delegation from the International Monetary Fund will start talks in Lebanon on March 29, Prime Minister Najib Mikati said on Saturday, expressing hope of a deal in the coming weeks.

"Next Tuesday they will start their mission in Lebanon," he told reporters on the sidelines of the Doha Forum in Qatar.

"Hopefully ... by the end of two weeks we will see the light," Mikati said.

The Lebanese pound has lost more than 90% of its value since 2019, when the financial system collapsed, plunging the majority of Lebanese into poverty, according to UN agencies.

Reforms demanded by donors to provide assistance to Lebanon include steps to tackle widespread corruption, tax dodging and government deficits - the root causes of the meltdown.

"We don't have an option, it is an obligatory path to negotiate with the IMF and to achieve an agreement," he added.

Saudia to Partially Resume Flights To, From Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and Amman on Saturday

One of Saudia’s aircraft (company website)

Asharq Al Awsat

16:14-9 April 2026 AD ـ 21 Shawwal 1447 AH

Asharq Al Awsat

16:14-9 April 2026 AD ـ 21 Shawwal 1447 AH

Saudia to Partially Resume Flights To, From Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and Amman on Saturday

One of Saudia’s aircraft (company website)

Saudia announced on Thursday the partial resumption of its operations to and from Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and Amman starting Saturday, April 11.

In a post on its official account on the social media platform X, the airline said the resumption will be carried out through the operation of exceptional daily flights to and from those destinations.

Saudia advised passengers to check the status of their flights before heading to the airport, noting that further updates will be published through its official channels.

Business

IMF Expects to Provide Vulnerable Economies Hit by Iran War Up to $50 bn

FILED - 24 October 2024, US, Washington: The logo of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is pictured on the facade of the conference building on Pennsylvania Street. Photo: Soeren Stache/dpa

Asharq Al Awsat

15:19-9 April 2026 AD ـ 21 Shawwal 1447 AH

Asharq Al Awsat

15:19-9 April 2026 AD ـ 21 Shawwal 1447 AH

IMF Expects to Provide Vulnerable Economies Hit by Iran War Up to $50 bn

FILED - 24 October 2024, US, Washington: The logo of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is pictured on the facade of the conference building on Pennsylvania Street. Photo: Soeren Stache/dpa

The International Monetary Fund expects to have to provide up to $50 billion in immediate financial assistance to countries affected by the Middle East war, its managing director said on Thursday, with the crisis likely to have lasting economic effects.

"Given the spillovers of the Middle East war, we expect near-term demand for IMF balance-of-payments support to rise to somewhere between $20 billion and $50 billion, with the lower bound prevailing if the ceasefire holds," Kristalina Georgieva said, according to prepared remarks shared with AFP.

She added that food insecurity due to transport and supply chain disruptions caused by the war was expected to affect at least 45 million people.

"Even in a best case, there will be no neat and clean return to the status quo ante," she said, as a fragile ceasefire appeared to hold on Thursday.

The IMF will pare its global growth forecast for 2026 based on the impact of the crisis, with spiraling energy costs hitting some vulnerable economies harder than others.

Georgieva said that even in the Fund's "most hopeful scenario," infrastructure damage, supply disruptions and a loss of market confidence among other "scarring effects" meant growth would be less than expected.

She highlighted the "asymmetric" effects of the crisis, hitting low-income energy importers with limited fiscal space much harder than others.

"Spare a thought for the Pacific Island nations at the end of a long supply chain, wondering if fuel will still reach them in the wake of such a severe disruption," she said.

Business

Cyprus' Aphrodite Signs 15-year Natgas Supply Deal with Egypt

A general view of a beach in Limassol, Cyprus, March 24, 2026. REUTERS/Yiannis Kourtoglou

Asharq Al Awsat

11:01-9 April 2026 AD ـ 21 Shawwal 1447 AH

Asharq Al Awsat

11:01-9 April 2026 AD ـ 21 Shawwal 1447 AH

Cyprus' Aphrodite Signs 15-year Natgas Supply Deal with Egypt

A general view of a beach in Limassol, Cyprus, March 24, 2026. REUTERS/Yiannis Kourtoglou

Cyprus' offshore Aphrodite field signed a 15-year deal to sell natural gas to the Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company, one of the ⁠partners in Aphrodite said on ⁠Thursday.

NewMed Energy said a binding term sheet was signed for ⁠the sale of all of the natural gas quantities recoverable from the Aphrodite reservoir with the national Egyptian gas company.

The term could ⁠be ⁠extended by another five years, Reuters quoted it as saying.

Last month, Egypt and Cyprus signed a framework agreement for cooperation on gas.

Lebanon’s Mikati Expresses Hope of IMF Accord in Weeks

Lebanon’s Mikati Expresses Hope of IMF Accord in Weeks

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Saudia to Partially Resume Flights To, From Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and Amman on Saturday

Saudia to Partially Resume Flights To, From Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and Amman on Saturday

IMF Expects to Provide Vulnerable Economies Hit by Iran War Up to $50 bn

IMF Expects to Provide Vulnerable Economies Hit by Iran War Up to $50 bn

Cyprus' Aphrodite Signs 15-year Natgas Supply Deal with Egypt

Cyprus' Aphrodite Signs 15-year Natgas Supply Deal with Egypt

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