“It hurts to see the political, social and economic downward spiral this country finds itself in. It is painful that many people have obviously lost confidence in the institutions and are packing their bags and leaving the country, ”said Schallenberg at a joint press conference. Austria stands on the side of Lebanon, but the responsibility rests with the country’s political and economic elite. “Only she has it in her hand to pull herself out of the swamp by the foreleg and to end clientele thinking,” said the Foreign Minister.
Specifically, what is needed is an agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which is a prerequisite for the disbursement of international financial aid, a regulation of the banking and financial sector and an independent investigation of the explosion at the port of Beirut in August 2020, Schallenberg listed the international demands .
The Lebanese foreign minister replied evasively to a journalist question why the government was not implementing the necessary reforms. “We’re working on it,” said Bou Habib tersely. There is progress in the country’s energy supply to improve the supply of fuel and electricity. It is hoped that negotiations with the IMF will at least begin in February. He thanked Austria for its humanitarian support and commitment in the context of the UNIFIL peace mission in southern Lebanon. He praised the historical good relationships that they absolutely want to develop further.
Schallenberg paid tribute to the Mediterranean country for accepting more than a million Syrian refugees. Austria is helping here with humanitarian aid, but he rejected the question of admitting refugees to Austria again. “The long-term goal is for people to return to their homeland, that’s what they want too.” He speaks as a representative of a country that in 2015 “was very much a victim of the so-called refugee crisis”. Although the numbers are not comparable, Austria has had to take in more than 120,000 people and wants to integrate them, which will take years.
After the meeting with Bou Habib, Schallenberg was also received by President Michel Aoun, Prime Minister Najib Mikati and Speaker of Parliament Nabih Berri. Before the political talks, Schallenberg visited the port of Beirut on Wednesday morning, where a year and a half after the catastrophic explosion with more than 190 deaths, the clean-up work has barely progressed. Mountains of rubble and wrecked cars lie next to the completely destroyed house ruins. The ground floor and the first floors of the building that houses the Foreign Ministry are still completely broken.
The destroyed port is now a symbol of the deep political and economic crisis in which the country has been for more than two years. 80 percent of the population now live below the poverty line. The country is politically paralyzed. Although there has been a government again since September, the cabinet under Prime Minister Mikati has not met since October.
The reason is a dispute over the investigations into the explosion in August 2020. The political blocs in the multi-denominational country are completely divided. The UN warned in November that Lebanon was on the verge of becoming a failed state.
