Lebanese central bank governor Riad Salameh said on Friday he hoped prior conditions set by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in a staff-level agreement with Lebanon would be met in order to secure IMF board approval of a program.

The IMF said on Thursday it had reached a draft funding agreement with Lebanon, but that Beirut needed to enact a batch of economic reforms before its board decides whether to approve the deal.

“We hope that the prior conditions set by the IMF are met in order to have a program approval by the board of the IMF,” Salameh told Reuters via text message, describing the agreement as “a positive event for Lebanon”.

“The agreement with the IMF will contribute to the unification of the exchange rate,” Salameh said. The central bank had “cooperated and facilitated the mission”, he said.

Source: Reuters