Commentary
In an interview, Naysan Rafati assesses the first week that followed the U.S. and Israeli attack on Iran.
Michael Young
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Source: Getty
Commentary
Lebanon: An Economic Postmortem
In an interview, Alain Bifani discusses the country’s financial collapse and his exit from the Finance Ministry.
By Ghida Tayara
Published on Aug 26, 2020
Alain Bifani is Lebanon’s former director general of the Finance Ministry, who resigned last June in protest at the way Lebanon’s leadership has been handling the country’s financial crisis. Bifani holds an engineering degree in optics and telecommunication from the Ecole Superieure d’Optique in France and a higher degree (equivalent to an MBA) in management and finance from the Ecole des Hautes Etudes Commerciales. Previously, he worked at Arthur Andersen in Paris, mostly auditing banks and industries in Europe and consulting for housing sector needs in postwar countries. He then occupied senior positions at ABN AMRO Bank Lebanon and Dubai and at Thomson Financial Bankwatch, where he was director for sovereign ratings for the Middle East, Central Asia, and North Africa. Bifani was the key driver behind the Diab government’s economic and financial reform plan that sought to put Lebanon on the right path after the country defaulted on its foreign debt. Diwan interviewed him in late August to get his perspective on the financial situation in the country and ask what was behind his resignation.
About the Author
Ghida Tayara
Senior Digital and Web Coordinator
Carnegie does not take institutional positions on public policy issues; the views represented herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Carnegie, its staff, or its trustees.
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