Let’s have a serious talk about drugs The cannabis debate never completely goes away in Lebanon. This is not surprising, given that the country is a major producer and consumer of the psychoactive plant. Everyone who is anyone has an opinion on the drug, usually expressed through impactless sound bites. The discussion was reignited on June 18 by an Internal Security Forces…… Read More
Refugee rights not up for debate In the past month, Lebanon has seen a number of troubling developments regarding the presence of Syrian refugees, with leading politicians heightening calls for the return of refugees to Syria and making unfounded accusations of an international conspiracy to settle them in Lebanon. As countries around the world have turned their backs on refugees, Lebanon…… Read More
No growth without reform Within a period of six weeks last spring, Lebanon received an attentive treatment from the international community. On March 15 in Rome, an international meeting was held to support Lebanon’s armed and security forces. Afterwards in Paris on April 6, world leaders convened to offer Lebanon substantial foreign aid to bolster its economy at the…… Read More
Securing our energy future Worldwide electricity consumption is estimated to grow from around 20,000 terawatt hours (TWh) today to 35,000 TWh in 2030, putting energy security at the forefront of future planning. While in the past, energy security was largely focused on oil supply, and natural gas supplies were not globally integrated, today a global market in natural gas…… Read More
Closing the infrastructure gap in Lebanon With the world’s population expected to grow by 2 billion—reaching almost 9.5 billion by 2040—one of the major structural changes that would need to keep pace is the development of infrastructure. The world is expected to need close to 100 trillion dollars worth of infrastructure investment by 2040, mainly in developing countries, according to estimates…… Read More
Beyond start-ups Lebanon has followed other countries in the region and abroad in promoting entrepreneurship to achieve economic growth and to generate future job opportunities. Entrepreneurship is considered a valid tool to help lead the country into a knowledge economy, where the role of information and technological change are the main drivers. In this context, education can…… Read More
Offshore petroleum investments made riskier In light of the recent Lebanon Investment in Infrastructure Conference as well as the highly anticipated CEDRE conference (also known as Paris IV), it is undeniable that attracting private investment is Lebanon’s top priority. This comes shortly after the country signed petroleum contracts with international oil companies (IOCs) for the exploration and production of offshore…… Read More
Lebanese in Brazil will not vote come May The Lebanese parliamentary elections on May 6 are bound to make history, as, for the first time ever, Lebanese residing abroad have been granted the right to vote. Their appetite to do so, however, has so far appeared to be rather humble. In total, 82,900 Lebanese abroad have registered to vote, according to the official…… Read More
Let the sunshine in Anyone who has lived or spent time in Lebanon is aware of the chronic gaps in the electric grid, which have resulted in regularly scheduled power cuts of three hours a day in Beirut and as much as 12 hours a day outside the capital. The government has persistently pursued stopgap measures, such as renting…… Read More
VAT rises from 10 to 11 percent Since at least 2011, the IMF has urged the Lebanese government to increase its VAT rate and to broaden the tax’s base by lowering exemptions. After this year’s increase of the VAT standard rate by 1 percent, from 10 to 11 percent, Lebanon’s VAT rate is still the second-lowest in the region after Djibouti, and…… Read More