Lebanese Republic 
The handing over ceremony at the Ministry of Economy
Minister Salam: Posts come and go but we remain soldiers in the battle of the nation-building.
Minister of Economy Amer Al Bisat: the person itself is not important unlike the mean and the path”
The handing over ceremony was held today at the Ministry of Economy between the outgoing Minister Amin Salam and the incoming Minister Amer Al Bisat in the presence of the Director General of the Ministry Mohamad Abou Haidar; Director of Grain and Sugar Beet Hisham Abou Jaoude and the Head of the Insurance Control Commission Nadim Haddad.
At first, Salam said: “ we welcome today Minister Al Bisat at the Ministry of Economy which we had always stated that it is a key ministry and it is no secret that all ministries posts are key ones. He also highlighted the Ministry’s important role in recent years which is also estimated to become more significant in the coming years after it had lost much of it”.
Minister Salam added: “we express our pride in revitalizing the role of the Ministry of Economy with all its departments, components and elements who constituted a war and crisis cell during the last three years in an exceptionally stage and under tough circumstances, thanks to the dedication of all its staff from directors and officials. We put the Ministry back on the map of the Lebanese government through its role played on the economic and trade level as well as on the protection and inspection level”.
Salam presented the achievements of the Ministry during the last three years, expressing “ his appreciation to all those who worked and exerted efforts within this Ministry that established solid departments and was considered one of the pioneer ministries in terms of automation. The Ministry also worked in the most difficult circumstances and succeeded to protect the country. The Ministry acted swiftly to put in place a comprehensive plan to tackle the crisis, safeguard the national currency, protect the prices, trigger the role of the National Council and implement the prices’ policy and everything that affects the citizens’ life”.
He emphasized the significance of the Ministry's role during the collapse of the national currency whereof the Ministry directly and solely intervened to put a mechanism as well as an elaborate and bold plan to face the crisis and protect both the national currency and citizens. In addition, The Ministry is considered the only Ministry that worked on legislation, citing the competition law and exclusive agencies law that had been dormant for years before being advanced by the Ministry. Salam expressed hope that the Cabinet would approve the necessary decrees, leading to positive outcomes for the Lebanese economy. Salam also stressed the importance of the Consumer Protection and Anti-Corruption Act that requires quick action to follow up on its approval stages”
He also stressed “the importance of the automation of formalities which save a lot on the citizens after introducing the automation into the call center and the customs data office at the port and airport as well as all formalities related to import and export and the markets’ inspections, which made things easier to the consumer; stating that “Our goal is to reach a 100% rate of automation; and the most important thing is that the Ministry of Economy secured a loan from the World Bank to support the Lebanese bread subsidy program, a symbol of the state's commitment to its citizens.” He added that “on the loan term expiry, we were able to return one million 600 hundred thousand dollars to the World Bank as administrative costs which made us the only Ministry that succeeded in this field”.
As for the Insurance Control Commission, Slam stated: “the insurance sector was suffering during three years and a half for the incapacity to invest the money outside Lebanon, consequently the sector was at risk of total collapse in terms of money’ investment at the Lebanese banks. By revitalizing the control commission, the insurance sector was able to re-organize its work and recover”; adding “we protected this sector with all our might, since it provides today insurance services to more than 600 thousand Lebanese and more than 250 thousand institutions and companies, being the only sector that provides insurance services. The sector succeeded to take off due to the cooperation between the Commission and the required standards. In this regards the Ministry worked in full transparency to lift the sector out of its financial crisis and here it is today providing insurance services to the citizens and provides them with health insurance coverage to insure their properties, homes and enterprises”.
Salam added: “we totally support the new Minister to complete what we had already done with the Commission President for it is a vital sector and we exerted all efforts to remain steadfast. I also salute the Public Sector’ employees and their directors for their morality and dedication to during their work, in particular the Directories of Economy, Trade and Grains in order to develop the Ministry, safeguard the citizens and follow up on the crisis that we went through” stressing that “they all worked under difficult circumstances and received low salaries; nevertheless they exerted efforts to assure the continuity of the Ministry’ work”. He added “I also salute and thank the private sector for being the resilience sector that supported the Government and the country; and made enormous sacrifices for the best interest of Lebanon”.
In the occasion of the assassination of President Rafic Hariri, Salam stated: “God rest his soul, he was the one who left us a country that we all dreamt of living in; we returned from abroad to live herein. We give a grand salute to President Hariri’ journey that we all aspire to continue”
At the end, Salam concluded: “Posts come and go but we remain soldiers in the battle of the nation-building. I am at the disposal of this Ministry and the country and will always be by my successor side for any necessary support and help”.
Al Bisat
In his speech, Minister Al Bisat thanked Salam for his efforts that we all know that they were exerted under difficult and exceptional circumstances in which he succeeded, together with the Ministry, to lift the country from the one of the most severe crisis in the world, starting from Corona virus and ending with the port explosion; and bring it to stability; revealing that he “had received a detailed list of the Ministry’ work process; and will always seek his advice and support as I move forward in my role”.
Moreover, Al Bisat saluted the Ministry of Economy’s Directors and staff stating “my philosophy in life consists in the fact the political man comes and goes, only the machinery remains”. Al Bisat emphasized that the most critical aspect of his new role is not the individual but the means and path taken. "I am confident in the support of the Ministry's staff and directors, and my role is to facilitate their work on the political level"
He added: “The President of the Republic said in his speech at in the Council of Ministers’ meeting that we are the people servants; and I shall keep that in my mind. We are here to help the people and this will be my roadmap that I will follow. Our mission consists in helping the citizens and the consumer in order to comfortably engage in the economic cycle and make things easier for them”. He also outlined the necessity of “collaboration with the private sector to boost the economic growth, support manufacturing and promote exports and services”.
To conclude, Minister Al Bisat stated: “Ministry of Economy plays a crucial and vital role on the social, staff and financial level. We should be aware of the impact of decisions taken on the long term. For this reason, I hope to revive the Mckinsey report which has a long-term impact on the Lebanese economy as well as to borrow from our brothers in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia the idea of Lebanon 2035.”
