The International Monetary Fund said on Thursday that a staff team will travel to Lebanon at the end of September to continue discussions on a wide-ranging reform plan aimed at reviving the country’s battered economy.

“Discussions on formulating a comprehensive reform program continue, with the goal of eventually supporting it through an IMF program,” IMF Communications Director Julie Kozack told reporters in Washington.

Lebanon has been mired in financial and economic collapse since 2019, in what the World Bank has described as one of the worst crises globally since the mid-19th century. The local currency has lost more than 90% of its value, banks remain paralyzed, and public services have largely collapsed.

“Lebanon’s economy continues to face major challenges,” Kozack said. “In 2024, we expect the economy to have contracted by 7.5 percent. This follows a smaller contraction in 2023, meaning the economy will have been in a period of contraction for two consecutive years.”

She said the country would need a “comprehensive reform program to restore growth, reduce unemployment and, very importantly, improve social conditions for the Lebanese people.” That, she added, would require fiscal reforms, adequate external financing, and a coordinated international effort to meet Lebanon’s “significant humanitarian and reconstruction needs.”

Kozack stressed that the IMF’s engagement with Lebanese authorities included examining “the right mix of policies and reforms, as well as determining the scale of external financing needed, not only from the IMF but also from the broader international community.”

“The authorities’ reform efforts will require significant support from external partners, preferably on highly concessional terms,” she said.

On the financial sector, Kozack noted that IMF staff have been “engaging substantively with the Lebanese authorities” to gain a full picture of the losses in the banking system.

“Resolving all of those issues will be an important part of this comprehensive reform program,” she said.