BEIRUT -- A top U.S. State Department official visiting Lebanon says the new government in Beirut needs to make tough decisions as it tackles widespread corruption and a crumbling economy, in addition to ongoing security issues.
David Satterfield, acting assistant secretary for Near Eastern affairs, said Tuesday that Washington wants to see Lebanon move forward. He spoke following meetings with Prime Minister Saad Hariri and Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil.
The nearly eight-year war in neighbouring Syria has deepened Lebanon's economic woes, which include high unemployment, meagre growth and a soaring public debt of $85 billion, or 155 per cent of the gross domestic product. Some 1 million Syrian refugees, a quarter of the country's population, are in Lebanon.
In January, Lebanese political factions formed a new government after the country's first parliamentary elections in nine years.
