Lebanons new government must send the right signals on economic reform regardless of who wins a June general election, Prime Minister Fouad Siniora said on Sunday, warning that the debt-laden state was "operating on a short leash".
Siniora also told Reuters his government was seeking to accelerate implementation of new infrastructure projects to boost confidence in an economy forecast to grow by 4 percent this year despite a global slowdown.
"In the coming two years, we have at least $3 billion worth of projects that are going to be executed," he said.
A former finance minister, Siniora is a close ally of billionaire politician Saad al-Hariri, who heads an alliance of factions that hope to defend their parliamentary majority from an opposition coalition led by the Iran-backed Hezbollah. Sinioras cabinet has enjoyed financial and political backing from many Western and Arab governments.
He said Lebanons new administration would have to immediately "send the right messages to the world" on the economy. Lebanon has one of the heftiest public debt burdens in the world. "Because if they dont send the right messages, then definitely they will be speculating at a time that Lebanon cannot afford to have a speculative type of thinking," said Siniora, prime minister since 2005.
"It is very important to send the right messages that can inspire confidence about the prudent policies... that we are committed to reform," Siniora said. "There is no other way, other than adopting the same policies."
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