A Lecture on the Economic Expectation of the Lebanese Status at Beirut Arab University

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A Lecture on the Economic Expectation of the Lebanese Status at Beirut Arab University

26 April 2012 Minister of Economy, Dr. Nicolas Nahhas, delivered a lecture entitled “The Economic Expectation of the Lebanese Status” at Beirut Arab University, Tripoli Campus. The lecture was held on the 23rd of March 2012 and was attended by Dr. Bilal Shahita representing MP Samir El Jisr, Mr. Saad Eddine Fakhouri representing MP Robert Fadil, Colonel Elias Abou Jaoudeh representing Minister of Defense, Dr. Nader Ghazal, Head of Tripoli Municipality, Mr. Samir Hasan representing the President of the Beirut Bar Association, Judge Tarek Ziadeh, Vice-President of the Constitution Council, Dr. Zouhaida Darwish, Secretary General of the UNESCO National Committee, Professor Amr Galal El Adawi, President of Beirut Arab University, Mr. Issam Houri, Secretary General of Beirut Arab University, Deans of Faculties, Mr. Ahmad Sankari, Coordinator of Tripoli Campus and Head of the BAU Alumni Association in Tripoli, bank managers and business owners as well as a crowd of interested people.

The event started with the Administrative Director of Tripoli Campus, Dr. Sanjakdar’s welcoming note in which he pinpointed the economic problems Lebanon suffers from and stated that some developing countries could promote their economies through the establishment of economic regulations which reflected their economic needs.

Minister Nahhas tackled the Lebanese economy from all dimensions as well as the bases that should be taken into consideration. He stated that the period of time between 2006 and 2010 witnessed stability due to the surrounding atmosphere. With the outburst of the International Economic Crisis, the flow of money increased leading to a rise in growth at 9.8%. This boom enabled the Lebanese economy to overcome the risks and to reduce the public debt from 170% to 130%.

Nahhas continued, “By 2011, the Lebanese economy had declined due to the decrease in growth from 9 to 1.50% which prevented us from setting any economic plans especially that our economy depends greatly on the sectors of construction, services, tourism and foreign funding. The decline in these sectors, which is due to the political and security circumstances in the region, has negatively affected the economic growth where the sectors of agriculture and industry could hardly have their shares.”

Nahhas added, “ A set of rules which are compatible with the conditions of the era, funding possibilities and openness to the economic ideas should be enacted.” He further encouraged the universities to consider the majors which meet the market’s needs.

Nahhas concluded that “Within the coming days, the government will be in the process of launching an integrated social, economic and developmental project to control the decline in the economic growth and put Lebanon on the right track.”