BEIRUT: Lebanon’s cabinet on Thursday named asset manager Karim Souaid as central bank governor, official media reported, a post crucial to implementing economic reforms demanded by the international community.
He was appointed despite reservations of new reformist prime minister Nawaf Salam, who called on Souaid to commit to the government’s reform agenda in a country enduring a five-year economic collapse widely blamed on official mismanagement and corruption.
“The cabinet appointed Karim Souaid as central bank governor,” the official National News Agency said.
Born in 1964, Souaid officially takes over after embattled former chief Riad Salameh’s term expired in July 2023 with no designated successor.
Divided politicians had since failed to agree on a permanent replacement for Salameh, who has been accused at home and abroad of financial crimes.
First vice-governor Wassim Manssouri had been acting head of the central bank, a post that is traditionally reserved for a Maronite Christian in Lebanon’s sectarian power-sharing system of governorship.
Souaid is the founder and managing partner at Gulf-based Growthgate, according to his biography on the private investment firm’s website.
It says he previously worked at financial establishments including HSBC Bank and has been involved in privatization initiatives in a number of Arab countries.
Some local media have reported that Souaid is close to the banking sector and members of Lebanon’s entrenched ruling class.
Salam said he had “reservations” about Souaid’s appointment but did not give specifics except to cite his “desire to protect depositors’ rights and preserve the state’s assets.”
He said Souaid “must adhere, from today, to the financial policy of our reformist government... on negotiating a new program with the International Monetary Fund, restructuring the banks, and presenting a comprehensive plan” to preserve depositors’ rights.
Lebanon’s new authorities need to carry out reforms demanded by the international community to unlock bailout funds.
The economic crash since 2019 has seen the local currency lose most of its value against the dollar and pushed much of the population into poverty, with people locked out of their savings.
Salam also said the cabinet approved Thursday “a draft law aiming to modify legislation on banking secrecy.”
In April 2022, Lebanon and the IMF reached conditional agreement on a $3-billion-dollar loan package, but painful reforms that the 46-month financing program would require have not been undertaken.
Earlier this month, the IMF welcomed the new Lebanese government’s request for support in addressing the country’s severe economic challenges.
In February, it said it was open to a new loan agreement with the country following discussions with its recently appointed finance minister.
Beirut-based think tank the Policy Initiative in a statement Wednesday said that the nomination of central bank chief would “test the new government’s commitment to genuine reform.”
“The next governor will shape Lebanon’s urgent reform agenda, serve as the main counterpart to the International Monetary Fund, and directly engage in sovereign debt restructuring negotiations” alongside the finance ministry, it said.
Souaid studied law at Lebanon’s St. Joseph University and at Harvard Law School in the United States, according to his biography.
He has also worked as a corporate finance attorney in New York, and is a member of the New York State Bar Association, it says.
The central bank governor in Lebanon is named by cabinet decree for a six-year mandate that can be renewed multiple times, based on the finance minister’s recommendation.
Lebanon cabinet appoints wealth manager central bank governor: official media
https://arab.news/4k6tk
Lebanon cabinet appoints wealth manager central bank governor: official media
- Souaid officially takes over after embattled former chief Riad Salameh’s term expired in July 2023 with no designated successor
UN presses Houthis for release of 73 detained staff as Yemen envoy holds talks in Oman
- Hans Grundberg meets in Muscat with senior Omani officials, and discusses with chief Houthi negotiator Mohammed Abdul Salam pathways for political dialogue
- The Houthis, who control much of northwestern Yemen including the capital, Sanaa, have detained UN employees and conducted raids on the organization’s premises
NEW YORK CITY: The UN said on Tuesday that extensive diplomatic efforts continue in an effort to secure the immediate release of dozens of UN staff arbitrarily detained by the Houthi militia in Yemen.
It came as the UN’s special envoy for the war-torn country, Hans Grundberg, held talks in the region aimed at reviving a political process to end the conflict.
He met senior Omani officials in Muscat on Tuesday to discuss recent developments in Yemen and the wider regional context, a UN spokesperson said. Oman has played a key mediation role during the conflict in Yemen.
Grundberg also met Mohammed Abdul Salam, chief negotiator for the Houthis, to discuss pathways for political dialogue.
The issue of detained UN staff featured prominently in the meetings. During the talks, the UN said, the envoy stressed the need to maintain momentum regarding the release of conflict-related detainees, building on discussions held in Muscat in December.
Grundberg and Muin Shreim, the UN official leading discussions about detainees, raised concerns about the continuing arbitrary detention of UN personnel and called for their immediate and unconditional release, stressing the need to respect the safety and security of all UN staff, both locals and foreigners.
“One of the main topics consistently raised in all our discussions, as you can imagine, remains the fate of 73 of our colleagues who continue to be arbitrarily detained by the Houthis, some since 2021,” UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric told reporters in New York.
The UN demands the immediate and unconditional release of all detained members of staff from international and local nongovernmental organizations and civil society groups, and persons who had previously worked with diplomatic missions, he added.
The Houthis, who control much of northwestern Yemen including the capital, Sanaa, have detained UN employees and conducted raids on the organization’s premises in areas under their control.
In October last year, Houthi leader Abdul-Malik Al-Houthi accused employees of the UN and humanitarian agencies of spying for Israel and the US. The UN denies the allegations. Following the accusations, the Houthis detained several members of UN staff and seized assets belonging to the organization.
During his meetings, Grundberg reaffirmed the UN’s continuing engagement with all parties in support of efforts to ensure a return to an inclusive political process that ends the near-decade-long war, which has devastated Yemen and triggered one of the worst humanitarian crises in the world.
