Policy Statement in Brief

In a policy statement presented to parliament on April 24, 2003, the President of the Council of Ministers, Mr. Rafic Hariri, addressed the concerns of the Lebanese on the domestic, regional and international levels. Following is an executive summary of the document:

 A.  Political Aspects:

Foreign Policy

v     The government assures, above all, that Lebanon is committed to implementing international resolutions.  These include resolutions aimed at achieving a comprehensive, just and lasting peace in the Middle East.  However, under no circumstances will it succumb to Israeli ambitions aimed at enforcing its hegemony throughout the region.  Lebanon also insists on  resolving all international conflicts within the framework of the United Nations and turning the Middle East into a zone free of weapons of mass destruction.

v     The current situation requires Lebanon, now more than ever, to hold on to international treaties and conventions, human rights, and the right of peoples to self-determination, independence, sovereignty, and the unity of their territory by all means possible.  This includes their legal right to resistance until every inch of their territory is liberated.

v     The government calls for an immediate withdrawal of occupation forces from Iraq and the rise of a national government derived from the free will of the Iraqis; a government capable of running Iraq’s affairs and wealth and preserving its unity, independence, sovereignty and the safety of its territories.  The state would also call for a prominent role for the United Nations.

v     The government underlines yet again its commitment to complete liberation of what remains of Lebanese territory under occupation, the freeing of prisoners, full sovereignty over its water resources and the right to claim reparations for losses incurred from damages or crimes committed by the Israeli occupation or aggression.

v     The government stresses its unequivocal commitment to the concomitance of the Lebanese and Syrian tracks in all aspects of the Arab-Israeli conflict, to secure the liberation of the Golan Heights up until the June 4, 1967 borders, support the Palestinian people’s quest for an independent state with Jerusalem as its capital and the right of return for refugees, rejecting their settlement under any circumstances whatsoever and under whatever pretext. It also remains committed to the resolutions of the Arab League Summit held in Beirut.

v     The government intends to foster Lebanon’s relations with its brotherly and friendly states in the Arab world and with international blocs - foremost among them the European Union – with which we shall seek to strengthen political, economic and technological relations.

Expatriates

v     The government shall attach special importance to Lebanese expatriates. It will work toward reinvigorating Lebanese expatriate institutions and preserving the unity of the Lebanese Cultural League worldwide to assist Lebanese diplomacy, activate it and support the national economy.

B.     Economic & Financial Aspects:

 Economic & Financial Policy

v     Lebanon has achieved, by way of the financial and economic program it adopted in 2001 and 2002, significant progress in the process of reforming the monetary situation and activating the economy.

v     The state thereby recognizes the necessity of reducing the budget deficit, increasing the primary surplus, gradually reducing interest rates, curbing the increase in public debt and reducing it by way of privatization.  Likewise, it recognizes the necessity of boosting growth rates and enhancing the role of the private sector by increasing its productivity and initiatives and identifying new job opportunities to secure better social horizons for citizens in tandem with a serious bid to trim the public sector, cut down its cost and increase its productivity.

v     The economic and financial vision of the Cabinet program revolves around a number of basic, interconnected axes:

First:  Completing the processes of privatization and securitization with total transparency and a profitable financial return that is attuned to the standards laid down by major international financial institutions under contract with the state to give it advice on the privatization process; with the assurance that the final decision remains with the Cabinet.

Second:  Achieving a significant and sustainable reduction in the overall public expenditure in a way that boosts efforts to curb current expenditure and limit allocations - as much as possible – to projects that are mostly financed from abroad and those of extreme necessity to strictly adhere to the forecast budget deficit figures.

Third:  Completing the reform policy, modernizing the Lebanese tax system and dealing with the structural problems it represents, to unify tax on individual income in Lebanon.

Fourth:  Continuing to preserve and work on enhancing financial and monetary stability, which are the most important pillars of social, economic and national stability.

Fifth:  Pressing ahead with economic development and growth according to a pace suitable for the state’s capabilities; capitalizing on funds and agreements made available by international organizations and friendly countries, and building on soft loans earmarked at Paris II.

Sixth:  Continuing to support the private sector and encouraging it to work and expand the search for new job opportunities, facilitating means of investment; building on the basic characteristics and competitive traits of the Lebanese economy, which aim to promote individual initiatives, protect ownership and acquire modern economic technology.

Tourism

v     As for tourism, which is fast approaching its past glory, the government will press ahead with its policy of encouraging investment in this sector and adopting legislation and measures that contribute to developing the tourism trade in order to encourage and facilitate travel to Lebanon, promote tourism media abroad and expand the Lebanese tourism market to include educational, medical and conference aspects. 

C.     Social & Environmental Aspects:

 Education

v     The government is committed to caring for all citizens by dealing with issues that top the priorities of their day-to-day lives. These include insuring education for children at all stages, providing healthcare and medical services for families and catering to people with special needs, be they handicapped, unemployed or elderly.

v     Realizing the importance of women’s participation in all sectors, the government will work to boost their presence in all public and private departments and preserve their rights to enable them to fulfill their role impeccably.

v     The government will seek to provide education in a democratic manner that best affords opportunities.  This will be achieved by cutting down costs and upgrading standards. The government intends, in the next few months and with foreign funding, to complete or subcontract the construction of dozens of schools throughout the Lebanese regions, in the capital and in its suburbs in order to insure education for all those who seek it.

 Lebanese University

v     The government will continue working to improve its standards and complete the construction of the university campus.  It will remain concerned with preserving the academic and administrative independence of the university, and bolstering the scientific, economic and social returns from allocations to the Lebanese University.

 Health Sector

v     Caring for the nation’s health is a fundamental aspect of Lebanon’s democratic culture since health is truly a human right.  To achieve this end, the government shall capitalize on the successful experience of granting public institutions their independent boards. This will be applied to all medical institutions throughout Lebanon, while simultaneously developing the Beirut Government Hospital, which has been built and equipped, into the higher medical and educational authority for the public and private sectors, on the domestic level and for the Arab region at large.

 Issue of the Displaced

v     We must again stress the importance and necessity of closing the file of the displaced, which is part of the drive to get the country back on its feet.  The state will work to provide the prerequisites for the return of the displaced and for reconstruction to conclusively erase the remaining legacies of the painful war and its demographic, social and economic fallout.

 Environment

v     The government will labor to activate and fortify the role of the Environment Ministry by seeking laws and decrees that are related to its planning, executive and supervisory roles; and also in relation to drafting laws for the quarries, beaches and reserves, spring water preservation, etc.