Lebanon is facing a severe economic crisis as a result of the explosion in Beirut, the President of the country Michel Aoun said on Wednesday.
"We are experiencing an unprecedented economic crisis," Al Arabiya TV quoted him as saying. "Whoever is behind the bombing will be punished most severely."
The President called on all Lebanese to show solidarity and mutual assistance in order to "overcome the disastrous consequences [of the explosion] together." Earlier, the Governor of the province of Beirut, Marwan Abboud, said that the damage caused by the explosion exceeds $3 billion, 300 thousand Lebanese were left without housing, and the destruction from the blast wave affected half of the capital.
Lebanon is already experiencing an extremely difficult economic situation. On March 7, Prime Minister Hassan Diab declared a financial default when Lebanon was unable to repay $1.2 billion in Eurobonds. The national currency depreciation - the Lebanese pound - by more than half has led to a rise in the price of food by almost 60%. All this provoked a wave of protests in the country. The new coronavirus pandemic has put a heavy additional burden on the economy. The presence of 1.5 million Syrian refugees in Lebanon has cost the country another $40 billion. In June, the Prime Minister admitted that the authorities' attempts to bring the country out of the crisis have not yet been successful.
In these circumstances, Beirut applied to the IMF for a loan of $10 billion, but in early July, negotiations were suspended until the implementation of reforms in Lebanon.
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Photo: official website of the President of the Russian Federation
Based on materials from TASS