The visit of the French envoy, Ambassador Pierre Dukan, to Beirut next week, aims to follow up on the ongoing discussion between the Lebanese and French authorities on the reforms that Lebanon should undertake, according to French diplomatic sources. And he will explore the extent to which there is a unified and integrated Lebanese position with regard to this file.

Internal and international attention is watching whether Lebanon will succeed in negotiating with the International Monetary Fund, or whether the government formation mechanism and the politicization of files will negatively affect what will lead to obstacles to rescue.

Prominent diplomatic sources told “Sawt Beirut International” that Dukan is the most experienced French official in Lebanese affairs and the Lebanese details, not only in politics, but also in the economy. He is familiar with all the projects and plans since the preparation of the “Cedar” conference in 2018, until now, including Lebanon’s needs for electricity, the body that regulates this service, the “bad” banking plan that has been put in place, and the laws to reform them all.

Several months ago, Dukan warned that the price of the dollar would rise if the reform campaign did not begin. And this is what happened.

The sources confirm that Dukan will take advantage of the foreign political atmosphere that accompanied the formation of the government, to press on any Lebanese party not to obstruct the path of reforms. There are theories of the controlling parties in Lebanon about the dangers of dealing with the IMF. But with American and French pressures, it will not be able to stand against this trend. And let it be known that all the major international financial organizations are very close to Washington and are affected by its position.

The sources reveal that there are factors that have arisen related to the IMF’s performance in dealing with crises in countries that need its help, especially since many of them considered its intervention not easy and painful because of the austerity plans it requested that would be reflected in people’s lives.

And it can be said that there is no escape from dealing with the IMF. Moreover, the Fund was able in the recent period to improve its performance, after realizing that it cannot apply theoretical plans to all countries equally. After the Greek experience, he followed the principle that his plans should be adapted to the conditions of each country. The Turks had a painful experience with the fund, and they say that they should be careful that Lebanon fulfill its interests in relation to the fund’s requests. And the Turks withdrew from negotiations with the Fund and implemented their plans.

The IMF has come to realize that it cannot give the same “antibiotic” recipe to all countries. There are countries whose situation is improving as a result of the prescription, and there are countries whose situation is not improving. Consequently, the Fund’s recommendations are expected to adapt to the needs and capacity of each country, and this will be applied to Lebanon. This new factor did not exist with the Greek crisis.

The sources confirm that despite the care and interest of some countries in the Lebanese situation, they still have other priorities. This is what the government of Lebanon, and all the governments of Lebanon in general, must realize, as they are supposed to work for the country. Now, negotiating with the IMF, if it succeeds, means that Lebanon will get the “seal” of this fund, which will form a bridge to the large international financial funds, especially European ones, including investment funds, which will start providing long-term loans to Lebanon with a value of up to The number of billions of dollars is expected to be about seven billion.