Lebanon’s Economy for Sustainable Development (2025)

1. Education - Provide appropriate, suitable and equipped buildings that ensure the safety and comfort of students and educational bodies. - Update and develop educational curricula in the primary, intermediate, secondary and university levels to cope with the new knowledge economy development. - Include in the educational curricula of primary, middle, intermediate and secondary levels scientific materials on human rights and road traffic safety standards, national and social values and legal controls. - Provide free education at least in primary schools and upgrade their educational level as a solid foundation for the higher levels of education, and to eradicate literacy, overcome obstacles of social communication, disseminate the right to education and equality among citizens. - Introduce effectively the applied methodologies in educational programs: Informatics, Languages, secretarial, accounting, manual and professional work (sewing, domestic work, simple mechanics, innovation, art, etc.). - Reinforce educational supervision on official school hours, functions and levels. - Develop vocational, technical and higher education to integrate it with the needs of the labor market in the productive sectors (industrial and agricultural), knowledge economy, and encourage and promote the teaching of Arabic and foreign languages, communication techniques and openness and ensure their quality. - Encourage vocational training at industries and industrial regions and include in the annual school trips program visits to factories to bring the new generation closer to national products and encourage them to adopt, defend and favor them over foreign products. - Collaborate with universities colleges and schools to include in their educational curricula information that promotes awareness on the importance of consuming Lebanese products and link the consumption of Lebanese products with patriotism and pride. - Encourage industrialists to visit schools, colleges and universities and explain the production stages through illustrated films. - Guarantee the quality and level of private education through effective control and monitoring in accordance with clear and transparent indicators and criteria. 5 - Establish and disseminate human values, ethics, customs and traditions in harmony with scientific and technological development.

2. Media - Utilize political and social broadcasting of television and radio stations as a public property and a national social responsibility in accordance with the constitutional and legal rules. - Change the community culture and prevailing perceptions of national products. - Encourage the consumption of Lebanese industrial products and link domestic production consumption with patriotism, promote and establish the direct relationship between national production growth and prosperity of the nation. - Seek to provide through the local media informative and advertising sequences about the industry for free or at nominal costs; including the audio visual morning shows promotional and awareness sequences for the consumer pertaining to the most important industrial news (awards, successes, innovations, solutions, products, etc.). - Encourage the production of documentary programs to boost industrial advertising, and encourage rural communities return to sound agriculture and to adopt developed production equipment with optimal environmental practices. - Identify an annual National industry day and organize corresponding activities. - Provide information materials to deflate political, communal and social tensions. - Promote a bright image of Lebanon as a country of openness, communication and progress, a country of high human values focusing on its productive sectors, advanced services, and a true tourism country throughout the year, a democratic pluralist system, a state governed by the rule of law and institutions, human rights, advanced medical system, quality education, sound agriculture and a clean environment.

3. Culture - Disseminate the culture of citizenship and sense of belonging based on favoring the nation’s interests above all others, feeling proud of belonging to the past and future “Nation of the Cedars”, and believing that Lebanon will remain strong, united and prosperous within an enriching pluralism that supports its national dynamics. - Raise awareness on citizens’ ability to achieve accountability and change based on the performance of their representatives, rotation of power, acceptance of elections results, and accepting others. 6 - Change society culture and the prevailing perception of national products, encourage the consumption of Lebanese industrial and agricultural products and link domestic production consumption with patriotism. - Be proud in our intergenerational Lebanese history and civilization, the achievements of our people, our good family-centered traditions and customs on axis of our social and national stability. - Encourage learning, reading, and scientific research, promote the importance of books and provide national libraries throughout Lebanon and urge the diffuse of the great human principles. 7 Second: Social Development

1. Social Protection - Build housing units consistent with high technical standards via concerned government authorities with strict monitoring to avoid exploitation, corruption, and waste, and sell these units by installment sales starting with public sector employees. - Activate the concept of cooperative work and the culture of productive participation through cooperatives considering their importance in regional development. - Promote the activities and branches of the National Social Security Fund (NSSF), rationalize its expenditure and raise the skills level of its employees to ensure health care coverage for all citizens not benefiting from other public health care systems (Civil Servants Cooperative, army, security forces, etc.). - Ensure integration, harmony and coordination among various government’s health care systems to prevent waste, corruption and poor service. - Promote human development programs by encouraging social solidarity and providing health, education and social protection services and programs for people with special needs and for vulnerable Lebanese. - Focus on the adoption of pension system and old age security for the private sector working groups that lose any kind of health and social support as soon as they reach the legal age for retirement. - Activate consumer protection measures, combat smuggling, tax evasion, fraud and forgery with most severe penalties and sentences. - Achieve gender equality and encourage women to participate in the economic and political process, specifically decision-making.

2. Health - Disseminate primary health care services as a first step towards total coverage and rationalize the health care coverage system to reach all citizens in a fair and equitable manner. - Ensure pharmaceutical products quality and cost-effectiveness and develop quality assurance programs for hospital services and primary health care. - Modify the pricing mechanism of medicines. - Rationalize the relationship with hospitals and promote quality and effectiveness. 8 - Promote awareness of non-communicable diseases (NCDs), such as heart disease, diabetes, obesity, cancer and others. - Expand and strengthen primary health care services. - Adopt decentralized automation in the issuance of health care cards. - Ensure competent human resources to enhance citizens’ confidence in the Ministry of Public Health and develop human resources of health care sector. - Reactivate the central laboratory, a cornerstone for the maintenance of public safety in the country. It is the reference laboratory for public health for water and food analysis. - Ensure public safety and epidemiological surveillance and reinforce the Ministry’s monitoring role in maintaining public health. - Increase access to health services and programs (medical care, medicines for incurable illnesses, terminal diseases and others). - Support, protect, and open foreign markets to the Lebanese pharmaceutical industries, adopt its products exclusively when similar products are available and control the import of medicines. - Work continuously to ensure a sound environment to limit diseases and reduce the health care bills.

3. Crisis and Disaster Management - Activate the role of natural and non-natural disaster management bodies and national authority for combating chemicals and increase its readiness to offer assistance when needed. - Optimize the utilization of all available resources during accidents and coordinate with primary care before the injured reach hospitals. - Properly provide the relevant authorities, relatives of the injured and the media with the necessary information. - Develop necessary plans to address crises and disasters (earthquakes, natural storms, landslides, terrorist acts, etc.) and distribute these plans on administrations, institutions, departments and individuals concerned, to be learnt and acted upon when necessary. - Test and experiment these plans effectiveness once a year and issue an assessment report on their success and limitations. - Build a clear framework for disaster risk reduction and management and take quick preventive or corrective actions. 9

4. Human Rights - Teach human rights in a practical and detailed manner to create a global culture in the field of human rights via knowledge and skills sharing and conduct shaping. - Promote understanding, tolerance, gender, regional and national components equality, and friendship with nations, peoples, racial, national, ethnic, religious and linguistic groups. - Enable all individuals to effectively participate in a free society. - Develop and grow the emotional, intellectual and social dimensions of human personality, and instill its sense of dignity, consideration, freedom, equality, social justice and practice of democracy. - Enhance the awareness of women and men on their rights to help them transform the principles of human rights into a social, economic, cultural and political reality, raise their ability to defend these rights according to legal and civilizational principles, and to maintain and promote them at all levels. - Strengthen the bonds of friendship and solidarity among peoples; promote respect for the rights of others, preserve diversity and cultural diversity, promote national cultures of all groups and peoples, enrich the culture of dialogue and mutual tolerance, renounce violence and terrorism, promote non-violence and anti-intolerance and help the national and humanitarian community to acquire strong immunity. - Promote a culture of peace based on justice and respect for human rights, mainly the right to self-determination and its importance in economic and social progress compared to the disastrous consequences of war, violence and conflict. - Provide those working in the human rights education with a comprehensive and job- oriented training. - Develop quality indicators and assessment systems to measure the impact of education on human rights activities. - Activate cooperation with international governmental organizations such as UNESCO and non-governmental organizations such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch. - Respect human rights and fundamental freedoms, particularly in administrations, politics, hospitalization, employment, services, development, education, decent living, and empower all groups and individuals to enjoy the same rights and fulfill the same duties in accordance with the principles of equity, equality and justice. 10 Third: Economic Development 1- Industrial Sector - Adopt and support the Integrated Vision of the Ministry of Industry, "Lebanon Industry" 2025, launched on the National Day of Lebanese Industry on June 2nd, 2015, which aims at developing, growing, and increasing the competitiveness of Lebanese industrial sector to meet European and international standards. This vision includes seven operational objectives, with relative steps and tools aiming to achieve overall sustainable development of the Lebanese industrial sector. The Vision was followed by the issuance of a strategic implementation plan to implement three operational objectives of this vision (2020) and an operational plan for the ministry’s departments and divisions (2018). The strategic objectives of this 2025 vision are: - Develop an effective, dynamic, and developed Ministry of Industry capable of conducting and directing the industrial sector towards sustained prosperity. - Provide a new central building for the Ministry of Industry headquarters, in addition to new locations for its regional departments, capable of containing both the ministry employees and the linked relevant institutions. Sufficient modern buildings with future outlook, well-equipped to provide best services, thus equally ensuring employees and clients satisfaction. - Establish the Ministry of Industry as a reliable reference in the field of statistics and industrial information. - Strive to guide the Lebanese society into becoming a productive and unique industrial society. - Achieve national economic development and raise living standards. - Contribute in reducing trade deficit. - Steadily increase job opportunities. - Raise productive capacity for national industry in order to meet 50 to 70% of local consumption needs of various sectors. - Increase the rate of contribution of the industrial sector to gross domestic product (GDP) to 18%. 11 - Environmental conservation and protection. - Keep pace with developments, support researches and innovations. 2-Industrial Zones - Organize and rehabilitate the existing industrial zones and create new ones in all the Lebanese regions far from residential areas and the suburbs, equipped with the necessary infrastructure. - Adopt legal texts that consolidate the legal provisions and controls/regulations to provide best working conditions for the industrial and economic enterprises, and lead them towards the best practices. - Cooperate with administrations, municipalities and unions to establish and disseminate model industrial zones to ensure sustainable regional development, employment opportunities and keep population deep-rooted in their villages. - Collaborate with concerned parties for expeditious processing of industrial licensing and find imminent solutions for problems and mechanisms to deal with issues before they are aggravated. 3-Increase the Competitiveness of the National Industrial Products - Encourage national industries to specialize in high added value production (programming, Nanotechnology, mechatronics, electronics, fashion design, traditional national food industry, medicine, jewelry, cosmetics, etc.). - Encourage integration among various industries internally and externally, merging and partnership to expand and increase competitiveness. - Develop the design components (packaging, packing, storage, display, etc.) of Lebanese products. - Work on activating the quality-related entities (metrology, standards, conformity assessment, QUALEB, ELCIM…). - Encourage the activities of all institutions dealing with quality improvement of Lebanese industrial and agricultural products (Industrial Research Institute IRI, LIBNOR, COLIBAC, research centers, and QUALEB). - Reduce production cost: lower the cost of capital (reduced interests, soft loans, fees and expenses, grants, costs of construction and investment: real estate, equipment, insurance, etc.) and production cost (energy efficiency, computerization, machinery 12 modernization, labor, advanced management, alternatives for the means of production). - Development and rehabilitation of infrastructure (electricity, transportation, water supply, sanitation, information services, communication). The reform of electricity sector in particular is necessary to reduce production cost for industrialists, which in turn increases the competitiveness of national goods to reach the Arab and foreign markets. 4-Green Industry - Use alternative and renewable energy and encourage energy efficiency. - Encourage recycling. - Promote the standardization of industrial institutions through ISO 14000- environmental management and ISO 26000-Social responsibility. - Promote the use of energy efficient green buildings. - Adopt the model of industrial cooperation agreement used in international conventions that includes encouragement of green industries. - Spread the culture of energy conservation and use of alternative energies (workshops, seminars, trainings, media, advertising, …) - Activate the activities of Lebanese Cleaner Production Center (LCPC). - Help raise the ecological awareness of industrial enterprises (workshops, seminars, training sessions…). - Participate in scientific industrial researches to establish and promote the concept of green economy. - Enforce the concept of green industry gradually as one of the conditions for providing the ministry services to industrialists operating in Lebanon starting with industrial licensing. - Work on passing a motivational law that encourages factories to use alternative and renewable energy. 5-Development of SMEs - Organize SMEs in all areas by: encouraging their legalization, managing their expansion, and unifying the general and private working conditions. - Improve the quality of Lebanese products. 13 - Control prices and quality of basic consumer goods, reduce related fees and impose high tariffs on luxury items and fix profit rates that do not exceed the maximum and minimum ceiling considered suitable by the state to prevent illegal speculation and exploitation. - Encourage visits by delegations from the public and private sectors to related and specialized foreign entities to exchange experience and get up-dated on developments. - Improve and regulate the business environment, facilitate the establishment and closure of new companies and passing the basic trade laws defined in the commercial law such as commercial contracts, corporate law (registration, closure and bankruptcy). - Pass the laws relating to the regulation and control of markets, competition law, intellectual property rights, consumer protection, geographical indications and others. - Work on increasing the professionalism and expansion of SMES and traditional industries on the legislative, practical, marketing and financial levels (by securing material resources and help them participate in specialized exhibitions and add them to the touristic map and develop organizing legal texts). 6- Exports Promotion - Preparing bilateral agreements on the basis of trade facilitation and stimulation of Lebanese exports, in addition to the acceleration of negotiations to access the World Trade Organization while ensuring the interests of national productive sectors (industrial and agricultural). - Review all trade agreements conducted between Lebanon and its commercial partners by making necessary amendments. - Strengthen the role of the Arab federation for Industrial Exports Development (AFIED) to work on production integration among Arab countries and contribute in finding proper markets for their products. - Activate cooperation with Lebanese delegations abroad, international organizations, foreign governments and embassies operating in Lebanon. - Focus on promoting national production by constantly seeking new overseas markets. - Adopt the national production protection tools in cases of dumping and the increase of imports, and simplify its procedures. - Adopt the principle of preference for national production in public tenders and secure more than 10% in favor of national industry. 14 - Encourage integration among industry, agriculture, services and trade. - Ensure compliance of national industrial products with the advanced local and foreign requirements and standards. - Facilitate imports procedures for national industry (raw materials, industrial equipment and machinery, etc.) in addition to basic needs and export (certificates of origin - industrial certificates - internal transport - support and protection, etc.). - Reduce transportation, transit fees and financial charges (ports, shipping, etc.) and reorganize procedures and fees of customs, administrations, ports and airports. 7-Exhibitions - Organize and participate in national and international exhibitions to establish Lebanon's position on the international economic and relational map. - Work on increasing promotion of national products by funding the participation of productive sectors in local and international exhibitions. 8- Statistics and National Accounts - Develop statistical and informational capacity on national accounts (macro and microeconomic). - Update statistical database. - Upgrade and activate the Central Administration of Statistics role and work on regularly issuing periodic statistics on national accounts (GDP, price index, unemployment rate, etc.), indicators and social realities. - Provide industrial and agricultural statistics and indicators, economic studies, consultations to industrial and productive enterprises and related competent governmental agencies. 9-Knowledge Economy - Encourage innovation and research and provide financial, practical and human resources assistance. - Support productive sectors that are pursuing technological progress and sponsor industrial and productive innovations. 15 - Encourage innovative capacities in coordination with concerned governmental and non- governmental agencies, universities, associations, unions and research centers. - Develop and regularly update legal texts that encourage innovation. - Enact laws that encourage digital economy, e-government, e-transactions and electronic signature. - Encourage scientific researches; provide internal support via necessary legal texts and budgets, and external support via needed agreements and donations. - Support and develop “Lira” program between the Ministry of Industry, the Lebanese Industrialists Association and the National Council for Scientific Research and major universities and turn it into an autonomous institution. - Engage universities and research centers, industrialists and farmers to establish and develop specialized scientific research centers, particularly in specialized areas considered appropriate by the ministry as a Nano-technology, mechatronics, food industry, medicine and programming (software), alternative energies, manufacturing of industrial equipment and machinery, advanced, sound, and diversified agricultural production, etc.). 10-Tourism Sector - Encourage internal industrial tourism to increase citizens’ awareness and urge them to better know their country. - Promote sustainable tourism over the four seasons. - Provide proper infrastructure for tourism and business to easily attract tourists and international business sectors to Lebanon. - Activate and develop the role of tourist police. - Consolidate security and political stability and ensure tourists security and safety. - Preserve and maintain archaeological heritage, and environmental sites. - Monitor tourism institutions (hotels, casinos, swimming pools, heritage, archaeological and natural sites) commitment and respect of fixed prices under the supervision of competent authorities. - Encourage internal industrial tourism and provide technical and service requirements. - Include field visits to factories and model farms and in guided tours inside Lebanon and organize specialized visits to businessmen. 16 11-Lebanese Diaspora Consolidate communication between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Emigrants throughout the world in order to: - Preserve the Lebanese identity for expatriates. - Activate the role of Lebanon regionally and internationally. - Promote Lebanese products. - Provide administrative and public services and necessary facilities (passports, administrative paperwork, etc.). - Transfer experiences and success stories to motherland. - Assist in securing the continuity of expatriate remittances. - Engage emigrants in Lebanese political and social life as well as in economy and trade by forming a national network of communication between Lebanese residents and emigrants, work to attract their investments to Lebanon and encouraging their participation in existing and new businesses. 12-Investment Sector - Encourage soft loans programs to increase investments in productive sectors (industry, agriculture, tourism and various services, etc.). - Follow-up on passing the bill of Geographical Indicators (including stating the country of origin) and seek extensive application thereof. - Follow-up on passing the industries merging bill, disseminate its benefits, and direct investments towards expansion and integration. - Fix three legal years deadline by passing a special law for the exceptional re-evaluation of fixed assets and real estate elements. - Increase consumption rate of industrial equipment from 8% to 20% by passing a law to encourage investments. - Activate public-private partnerships on one hand and partnerships between public sector and civil society on the other hand. - Rely on the private sector and on national and foreign capitals to attract the required investments, and reduce the reliance on government budget. - Encourage banks to not only count on revenues generated from lending, deposits and interests but to also invest in productive sectors which can be highly beneficial to banks, 17 can contribute to the growth of production and work, provide steady future incomes, ensure monetary and financial independence and gives the ability to face any external negative repercussions. 13-Work and Workers - Capacity building for human resources to carry out tasks efficiently and effectively and rely on-going training to develop the skills of workers inside and outside production facilities in specialized institutes and institutions. - Activate periodic inspection visits to production facilities to ensure the proper application of work regulations. - Apply wage increase periodically at the beginning of each year at a rate ranging between 2% and 3% according to indicators of annual normal economic inflation. - Raise awareness of the Labor Code provisions and promote the concept of social dialogue among social partners. - Prepare reports and scientific studies on the labor sector and use these reports as the main components for the formulation of social labor policies. - Continue networking with local and international institutions. - Activate the work of the National Employment Office (NEO) to create new jobs, fight unemployment, regulate the labor market and impose fees on foreign workers. - Attempt by all means to employ the national labor force and to exclude non-specialized, unnecessary foreign workers. - Upgrade and develop the labor law to protect the rights of labors and the vulnerable categories. 14-Telecommunications - Accelerate the completion of structural reforms of this sector. - Organize the telecommunications sector, ensure transparency, combat corruption and preserve state revenues. - Activate the public-private partnership in telecommunications. - Improve the quality and ensure the continuity of efficient mobile, landline services and Internet throughout Lebanon, and protect personal data and information. - Revise the level of taxation and charges on telecommunications services. 18 - Give opportunities to provide modern facilities and equipment (fiber optics ...) to provide consumers with advanced telecommunications services and required infrastructure for the telecommunications sector. 15-Electricity - Work on reducing the deficit of EDL- that represents 4% of the gross domestic product- by activating the collection procedures and stop protecting all tax evaders. - Modernize the infrastructure and complete the construction, equipping and rehabilitation of power stations and organize power distribution, particularly rehabilitate the power stations in Zouk and Jiyyeh and mitigate their environmental impact. - Decentralize electricity production to extend the electricity network and reduce costs. - Engage the private sector in the distribution sector by investing in the construction, operation and maintenance of distribution activities, including counting, billing and collection. 16-Transport - Provide high quality infrastructure for transport, and transportation and ensuring traffic safety. - Ensuring a variety of public transportation systems, effective and affordable (buses of different sizes by region - railways on the coast and in the Bekaa at least) - Construction of rapid bridges and tunnels at the crossroads and intersections to solve the problem of traffic in Beirut and areas. - Construction of an equipped artificial tunnel on the road of Beirut- Damascus (from Bhamdoun to Shtoura). - Monitoring the border crossings to prevent smuggling and wasting of public funds, to preserve and protect the national production from illegal competition. 19 17-Financial Sector a- Public Debt Lebanese public debt represents the heaviest burden weighing on public budget after salaries and compensations of the public sector. Public debt service accounts for about 40% of tax revenues and one third of total revenues. This limits the government ability to allocate the funds necessary for the rehabilitation of national economy infrastructure. For this reason: - Approve the budget of 2017 in addition to wage and grades scale and welfare benefits for employees of public administration, public institutions, and municipalities based on scientific and logical basis rather than random and partial solutions and ineffective arrangements. - Organize the approval of public budgets and the laws of closing account within constitutional deadlines. - Stop the hazardous policy of lending at high interest rates and relying on self-sufficient resources generated from increased national production, reduced deficit in the balance of trade, balance of payments and public budget, stop of wasting public funds and corruption and preservation of various resources. - Urgently change the Ministry of Finance role from being merely a ministry that collects taxes to become a ministry that supports investment in the different productive sectors by reducing taxes and fees where needed in order to increase production, boost the economy and as a result increase the government financial return. b- Taxes and Fees - Apply progressive tax system in a scientific manner that does not intimidate the capitalists by imposing reasonable tax rates. - Stop wasting of public funds and impose austerity on the pillars of the state (travel expenses - the number of participants in the delegations - the purchase of cars - banquets - buildings and equipment not produced ...). 20 - Strive to reduce deficit, achieve balance in public finances, activate tax collection, expand the base of tax payers, adopt progressive direct and indirect taxes and reform the tax system. - Rationalize public expenditure and ensure equality before the law and public burdens. - Work to exempt industrial warehouses from guaranteeing value-added tax (VAT). - Put in place tax incentives and concessions to encourage investments in productive (industrial and agricultural) sectors that would lead to economic growth and new job opportunities. - Work on passing port fees exemption law on industrial machinery and raw materials designed for industrial use from (including spare parts for industrial machines). - Work on passing the draft law for the amendment of Article 5-bis of the Income Tax Law to exempt the expenses of researches and development from income tax. - Seek to amend Income Tax Law and VAT law conveniently and provide incentives. - Work on passing the draft law submitted by the Ministry of Environment to amend article 5-bis and article 7 of the Income Tax Law. - Approve and modernize the land law, build-operate-transfer (BOT) laws, the general economics laws such as procurement and concession. - Reduce VAT on imports of raw materials designed for use in local productive sectors. c- Banking Sector - Stimulate concessional lending programs to increase investment in productive sectors. - Attempt to find a mechanism to guarantee national and foreign investments in Lebanon and engage related partners (Banque du Liban, KAFALAT, insurance companies…) in this mechanism, particularly in productive sectors (industry-agriculture). - Provide proper conditions and facilitations to attract and direct investments into productive sectors. - Attempt to raise the loan ceiling granted by banks through specialized financial institutions and encourage the largest number of industrialists to participate in their programs and in the subsidized loans programs. - Collaborate with Banque du Liban and financial institutions (KAFALAT, etc. ), specialized institutions and agencies both national (IDAL) and foreign (World Bank, European Bank, etc.), to create incentives for financing the industrial sector in particular in the proper industrial and agricultural sectors (industrial zones, model farms, innovative products, developed tourism services establishments, alternative energy, clean environment, development and specialized researches…). 21 - Notify industrialists, farmers and owners of SMEs in different fields, and share information with them (through seminars, workshops, etc.) about the latest financing programs in collaboration with all parties (Banque du Liban, KAFALAT...). - Maximize utility of IDAL and Council for Development and Reconstruction investments encouragement programs in industrial and agricultural sector. - Transform the banking sector into an investment and investing sector to engage it in production and promote its competitiveness regionally and internationally against future challenges. 18-Alternative Energy - Promote, develop, and disseminate the concept of energy efficiency to better use and maximize the available energy, encourage the use of alternative and renewable energies and reduce the burden of current energy costs. - Work on securing alternative energy sources that are less costly and more efficient (waste treatment, recycling, gas use, solar energy, steam energy, wind energy, natural ground heat). 19-Oil and Gas - Initiate adequate oil and gas exploration, production and investment as this has a considerable strategic impact on the national economic growth. - Oil revenues, if used efficiently via a conscious strategy, would result in increased fiscal revenues and reduced budget deficit. Therefore, a Sovereign Wealth Fund need to be established from oil and gas revenues in accordance with international standards to ensure transparency, conserve this national wealth, help reduce the burden of public debt and implement investment and development projects. - Develop the petrochemical industry to create jobs for Lebanese labor, encourage direct foreign investments and develop Lebanese infrastructure. - Prepare qualified human resources for this sector selected from Lebanese youth (education, training, attraction of expertise, etc.). 22 20-Urban Planning - The need to Control the work of the Urban Planning General Directorate under existing rules and laws for the preservation of Lebanon's natural resources, good use and classification of land away from randomness and clientelism. - Legalize the composition and work of Higher Council for Urban Planning, its meetings, decision-making mechanisms and accountability; the current situation of organization, institutions and reality on the ground is catastrophic. - Proper urban and legal planning provides an important resource for the Treasury, and contributes in fighting corruption, wasting of public funds and protects societies from being undermined by the tangled random systems and absence of clear scientific criteria for making the relevant decisions. 23 Fourth: Environmental Development

1. Water - Initiate governmental reforms in the water and sanitation sector to improve coverage and ensure the continuity of water supply throughout Lebanon, by increasing storage capacity, reducing waste of water and leakage in water supply networks, expanding irrigation network coverage, and increasing levels of wastewater collection and treatment. - Develop a scientific plan to ensure the cleanliness and sustainability of Lebanese water from all sources and limit wasting of water. - Optimize the use of energies of rivers water and groundwater for drinking, irrigation, land restoration and power generation. - Improve the efficiency of water resources utilization (provide drinking water, water for domestic and industrial use; raise awareness on aquatic conservation through education, media, and enforce necessary measures to achieve this goal; rationalize the use of irrigation water, reduce water pollution ...).

2. Agriculture - Update and pass laws, decrees and decisions related to Arab, regional and international agricultural and trade agreements. - Develop agricultural roads and irrigation systems and benefit from water excess. - Rehabilitate and activate control devices and mechanisms, develop laboratories, restore and activate veterinary and plant quarantine centers in all border posts and control exports, imports, and inputs. - Control agricultural products safety in the Lebanese markets. - Encourage and assist producers and farmers to comply with domestic and external markets standards and requirements and secure products’ comparative advantages. - Encourage and assist producers and farmers to adopt agricultural traceability and labeling. - Establish transition to more specialized production chains within the domestic market, manufacturing or export. 24 - Enhance production efficiency to increase competitiveness and give products added value. - Activate and develop agricultural export subsidies. - Provide affordable and subsidized sources of investment in the agricultural sector to enable small and medium-sized owners to obtain agricultural loans and investment partnerships. - Establish new mechanisms for agricultural lending, financing and investment through the banking sector. - Link agricultural loans to the adoption of standards, specifications, traceability and labelling systems and agricultural trademarks. - Rationalize the use of agricultural pesticides and fertilizers used for the development and dissemination of high quality agricultural production and health and encourage organic farming. - Restore the importance of Lebanese domestic products. - Apply sustainable management of marginal and rangeland lands. - Rationalize the use of agricultural land and reduce soil pollution and desertification. - Conserve biodiversity and ecosystems (forests, pastures, water, fisheries etc.). - Develop and implement the National Forest Management Plan. - Restoration and irrigate of farmlands, organize, encourage and develop agriculture, develop its production and complete the land survey of the remaining lands that covers a total area of 35%. - Re-forestation of mountains and areas by the government, municipalities and citizens, protecting the forest resources (for soil conservation, underground water, etc.) and establish specialized and effective private guard, equipped to monitor woodlands and forests with the possibility of benefiting from the retired military forces for this purpose. - Activate, update and support agricultural cooperatives and encourage them to research and development.

3. Preservation of the Environment - Reduce the use of harmful chemicals materials in all areas and prevent their leakage to air, water and soil and raise awareness on their good use through education and media. 25 - Increase the cultivation of trees in empty areas to enhance the purification of the atmosphere and limit urban invasion, which caused the cutting of many trees and the death of many organisms that fed, Inhabited and sheltered on these trees. - Utilize modern methods to dispose of solid, liquid and gaseous waste, and stop the old polluting methods. - Organize awareness campaigns on the importance of the environment and means to preserve it, and organize campaigns to clean regions, particularly the touristic ones. - Give lessons at schools about the environment to establish healthy habits in children since childhood. - Preserve the environment and protect natural sites (marine shores, rivers’ basins and valleys), and preserve the cultural, architectural and cultural heritage and coordinate with national and international bodies to address the negative impacts of climate change and scarcity of resources.

4. Livestock - Activate and develop agricultural researches, develop existing agricultural schools, support and expand natural reserves, enrich livestock and encourage the establishment of farms and livestock. - Impose traceability system for farm animals and the production of meat, milk and its derivatives. - Regulate and update the laws governing fishing and hunting. 26 Fifth: Good Governance

1. Security a. Economic Security Ensure maximum self-sufficiency of the national economy by supporting and developing the vital productive sectors (industry, agriculture, etc.) that provide economic sustainability and create employment opportunities in addition to consumer goods necessary for the Lebanese citizen. b. Industrial Security - Support the industrial sector by all means and enable it to adopt high quality production process in various quantities to meet Lebanon's needs of national products and achieve self-sufficiency of industrial consumer products, especially those based on human added value and raw materials produced nationally. - Ensuring the integration of industries to establish national production networks that are sufficient, sustainable and capable of saving resources, providing cash for imports and raising the level of production and quality. c. Monetary and Financial Security - Maintain the safety and stability of the Lebanese pound exchange rate for foreign currencies by: - Rationalizing public expenditure, improving tax collection, expanding the base of tax payers, and ensuring equality before the law and public burdens. - Support productive sectors (industry - agriculture) to increase their production and exports, to obtain foreign currency and conserve financial resources within Lebanon. - Maintain adequate reserves of foreign currency, gold and production. - Improving the investment environment to attract foreign investments to Lebanon. - Stop financial waste and involve the private sector, particularly the banking sector, in productive sectors and in public sector projects. 27 d. Food Security - Support the national productive sectors of agriculture and food production sectors to secure essential foods (wheat, sugar, meat, etc.) to achieve self-sufficiency as much as possible. - Ensuring food safety and sustainability by following traceability, quality, manufacturing, packaging, packaging, and transport and preservation systems in accordance with international standards. - Establish a bank for necessary seeds. e. Investment Security - Create an investment environment by providing sustainable security stability and securing an investment climate based on free capital transfer, facilitation of bank lending and assuring protection of foreign and domestic investments and ensure appropriate judicial environment. - Adopt legislation and regulations that improve the investment climate. - Strive to find a mechanism to ensure foreign and national investments in industry, agriculture and services. f. Planning Security Establish the concept of medium and long term planning and programming, develop national economic implementation plans for this vision (Lebanon Economy 2025) which integrate with of the sectorial plans established by the relevant ministries (industry, agriculture, environment, etc.) to achieve the desired objectives. g. National Security - Preserve the right of every citizen to enjoy security, safety, responsible freedom and a promising future. - Continue on fighting all forms of terrorism to ensure the safety of residents in Lebanon and to help the growth and prosperity of the Lebanese economy. 28 - Develop and disseminate cohesive national concepts to unite the citizenship outlook, consolidate the sense of belonging, respect diversity and social integration, and value and enrich diversity. - Support and rehabilitate military forces and neutralizing them from political attractions and linking them to patriotism, unifying their combat doctrine, rules of action, integration, coordination and harmony among them.

2. Election - Represent the Lebanese people, residents and expatriates, of all categories and aspirations, in a fair electoral system that suits Lebanese multiculturalism, national unity, democracy and participation.

3. Law and Justice - Establish the independence, professionalism and integrity of the judiciary system and judges which ensures justice and national peace, and accountability of the defaulters and bribees, and reassure investors, litigants and right holders. - Good selection of judges during appointment, training, accountability and supervision and raise the level of lawyers’ professionalism from university to the practice of the profession.

4. Fighting Corruption - Distance politics from the Administration and refrain from protecting the perpetrators and bribees and hold them accountable. - Secure proper framework to motivate work through systematic incentives, true appreciation of the functional skills and provide living and services needed to enhance the sense of belonging, loyalty and dignity. - Activate and support the National Institute of Public Administration in preparing and training staff and unify their guidance professionally and nationally. - Ensure sufficient salaries, wages and allowances for workers in the public sector. - Determine the structure of administrations, evaluate their work and the work and feasibility of public institutions. - Renew functional and administrative systems to keep up with development, and motivate employees and improve the functional and institutional performance. 29

5. Controlling Bodies - Activate and develop the controlling bodies, respect their independence and keep them away from politics and commit to their powers defined by law. - Simplify administrative and legal procedures and promote transparency in dealing with citizens, via fast services and coordination between them to save time and resources, and promote integrity, good service, social and national solidarity. - Disseminate the concept of social responsibility between the public and private sectors and the components of civil society.

6. Administrative Decentralization - Adopt the expanded nonexclusive and decentralized administration in the provision of public services to stabilize the citizens in their villages and alleviate overcrowding in cities. - Provide suitable buildings for managerial work in administrations, municipalities and institutions and bring ministries closer one to another. - Provide sufficient resources for municipalities and its syndicates to be able to carry out their sociability duties each within their scope, in cooperation with nonexclusive bodies of the central administration. 30