Latest news with #reform
Al Jazeera
11 hours ago
- Business
- Al Jazeera
Kazakhstan's president on balancing Russia, China and the West
Kazakhstan sits at the crossroads of global power between Russia, China and key trade routes. President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev talks to Al Jazeera about his reform agenda, the legacy of Nazarbayev, and plans to reduce inequality in a resource-rich nation. He also addresses Kazakhstan's economic dependency on oil and Russia, growing ties with China and the West, and criticisms over press freedom and political openness. With the war in Ukraine redrawing alliances, is Kazakhstan truly neutral, or simply under pressure?
LBCI
2 days ago
- Business
- LBCI
PM Salam tells Lebanese in UAE: Our mission is to rebuild the state and restore trust
Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, speaking to members of the Lebanese community in the UAE during a reception held in his honor at the consulate, reaffirmed his government's commitment to advancing its reform and sovereignty agenda. He emphasized that the government's core mission is to rebuild the state and restore the trust of both Lebanese citizens and investors. "I know many of you came here because conditions in Lebanon have been far from normal in recent years due to wars and recurring crises," he said. "But your presence in the UAE has been a vital source of support for Lebanon over the past few years." He added, "It's no secret that Lebanon has missed many opportunities—starting with the Taif Agreement, which ended the civil war but was implemented selectively, eroding confidence in our political system. We also failed to capitalize on Israel's withdrawal from Lebanon and, later, on the Syrian withdrawal as well." He continued, 'Today we have a new opportunity. I know many of you are here because you lost faith in Lebanon. Our goal now is to win back your trust—and the trust of all Lebanese. We have one mission: rebuilding the state. That starts with financial, administrative, and political reforms. We've already made progress, even though the government has only been in office for three months.' 'We passed the banking secrecy law in Parliament, and we're moving forward with a plan to reform the banking sector. We're also working on a comprehensive strategy to address the financial gap, and we've developed a proposal to strengthen judicial independence, which we hope will be passed soon.' He added, 'Rebuilding the public administration is another key priority. We've adopted a new merit-based and transparent appointment process, which led to the selection of the head of the Council for Development and Reconstruction, and we will soon appoint the rest of the members. All future appointments will follow this new approach. We've also launched regulatory bodies for the telecom and electricity sectors, and we hope to complete the appointments for these authorities soon.' He added, 'Our second priority is strengthening security, which means restoring state sovereignty and extending it across all Lebanese territory. We dedicated three sections of our ministerial statement to this issue, reaffirming the principles of the Taif Agreement: the state must exercise full sovereignty, all weapons must be under the control of the Lebanese state, and decisions of war and peace must return to the state alone.' He continued, 'What's hindering this path is the ongoing Israeli occupation of several points in the south. Let's be clear—we're no longer in the era of World War I. We now live in an age of satellites and surveillance balloons, not to mention the spy networks operating on the ground.' He stressed that 'Israel's continued occupation delays Lebanon's ability to fully assert its sovereignty through its own institutions, as outlined in our ministerial agenda.' He continued, 'We've also successfully held municipal elections, and we're preparing for parliamentary elections in less than a year. We plan to submit a proposal to amend certain aspects of the electoral law that need revision.' He added, 'Many of you will be visiting Lebanon in the coming weeks and months, and I'm confident you'll notice clear improvements—especially along the airport road.' On the issue of bank deposits, he pointed to the recently passed banking secrecy law, highlighting its importance in distinguishing between legitimate and illicit funds. He stressed the need to reform the banking sector, rebuild trust, and establish a clear mechanism to return depositors' money.
The National
2 days ago
- Business
- The National
New airport master plan nearly complete and Captagon fight not yet won, Lebanese PM says
Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam announced on Wednesday that the master plan for a second airport will be unveiled within a month, vowing to open the project to foreign investors. In an interview with The National and other UAE-based media outlets, Mr Salam said the war-scarred country, emerging from a devastating war with Israel, is looking to reopen its economy. He outlined parallel priorities for the state, from restoring a monopoly on arms to encouraging foreign support, and pledged to continue the fight against Captagon smuggling, which has strained relations with Arab states. 'We are not going back to the old days of asking for donations and loans. We need to prepare a suitable environment for investment,' Mr Salam said. 'The responsibility for reform and restoring the state's sovereignty lies with us, first and foremost. But with Arab and international support, we'll be better positioned to succeed.' The UAE has sought to bolster bilateral ties with Lebanon in recent months as it emerges from years of political turmoil. In April, Lebanese President Joseph Aoun held talks with President Sheikh Mohamed in what was the first formal visit by a Lebanese head of state to the Emirates for more than a decade. A long-standing ban on UAE citizens travelling to Lebanon was lifted on May 7, highlighting the success of the visit. On Tuesday, Sheikh Mohamed set out the UAE's support for Lebanon during talks with Mr Salam. Priorities and challenges Leading a reformist government backed by the US and Arab states, Mr Salam's task is far from easy. The small country needs $14 billion to rebuild after the war between Israel and the Iranian-backed militant group Hezbollah. 'There are many priorities, major challenges and numerous files, making it difficult to set fixed priorities. That's why it's important to work on parallel tracks,' he said. Efforts are focused on attracting investment to key infrastructure projects, he added, primarily the Port of Beirut, which was devastated by a massive blast in 2020, the northern port of Tripoli close to Turkey and a second airport in the east. 'The master plan for the new airport, the Rene Rene Mouawad Airport in Qlayaat, will be presented in the coming weeks – in less than a month,' he said. 'We've started work on this quickly, and the project will be open to investment. We haven't yet finalised the exact model, whether it will be a tender or not, but it has significant potential.' Lebanon, with its strategic location in the Mediterranean on the doorstep of Europe, has long struggled to keep its only airport in Beirut fully operational due to political instability and its proximity to areas prone to unrest. A second airport could help it regain some of the status it enjoyed before the civil war began in 1975. 'It could serve in cargo operations and low-cost aviation,' Mr Salam said. Another key asset for Lebanon is its gold reserves, about 286.8 tonnes valued at about $27 billion. This accounts for more than 76 per cent of the country's GDP, giving Lebanon the highest gold-to-GDP ratio in the world. However, Mr Salam has said the gold remains off-limits for now. 'Any tampering with Lebanon's gold reserves today could have negative consequences. The risks outweigh any potential gains from investing or liquidating part of it,' he said. We are firmly committed to the Arab Peace Initiative Lebanese PM Nawaf Salam While Lebanon seeks support to reopen its economy and rebuild, it continues to address a critical issue: stopping the smuggling of Captagon to Arab states, a phenomenon that has led several countries to boycott Lebanese agricultural and manufactured goods. As the civil war broke out in 2011 in neighbouring Syria, millions of Captagon pills were produced under Bashar Al Assad 's regime and shipped through Lebanon and other countries, accounting for about 80 per cent of the world's production, according to several estimates. This shadow economy has largely halted in Syria after the fall of the regime in December, but for Lebanon, the fight continues, both within its borders and along the frontier with Syria. 'We are looking to facilitate exports to Gulf countries, and we must do our part to ensure that red lines are not crossed, particularly those that have concerned Gulf states in the past, like the trafficking of Captagon drugs through Lebanon,' Mr Salam said. 'These drugs were produced in Syria, passed through Lebanon, took on a Lebanese cover, and were exported from here. Today, with the tightening of our border with the Syrian regime, smuggling and drug exports are more controlled. But that doesn't mean the problem is over.' A major factory on the Lebanese-Syrian border was dismantled in the last month, Mr Salam said. No state, no peace On the diplomatic front, Lebanon faces mounting pressure to swiftly reduce Hezbollah's political influence after the group's heavy defeat in its war with Israel, and to establish a clear path towards its disarmament and the disarmament of Palestinian factions in refugee camps. Success on this front is key to securing Arab and western support for Lebanon's reform and reconstruction efforts. Mr Aoun on Monday confirmed the process to disarm refugee camps will begin in mid-June after a visit to Beirut by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. 'We have reached an understanding on the issue of weapons collection. We are ready to co-operate on mechanisms to hand over weapons, even removing them from the country,' said Mr Salam. 'The PLO [Palestinian Liberation Organisation] is the recognised Palestinian representative by Lebanon and all Arab countries. Other groups, like Hamas or other factions, may have a different view, but we care that anyone carrying weapons falls under this agreement. We cannot negotiate with each party separately,' he added. Mr Salam also announced that 'all the weapons caches that were outside the camps are gone. Those were Syrian weapons under Palestinian names'. Political sources in Beirut have suggested in recent months that Lebanon may come under pressure to pursue a path towards normalising relations with Israel in exchange for US and western support, as well as an Israeli withdrawal from the territories it still occupies in southern Lebanon. Mr Salam denied any such pressure and reiterated that there will be no relations with Israel until a Palestinian state is established. 'Our goal is peace, but peace based on conditions that guarantee its sustainability, which requires a just peace. And there is no just peace without a two-state solution, not just any state, but a state with East Jerusalem as its capital and the right of return for Palestinians guaranteed,' he said. 'We are firmly committed to the Arab Peace Initiative.'
Free Malaysia Today
2 days ago
- Business
- Free Malaysia Today
Next economy minister should be a technocrat, says economist
Economist Geoffrey Williams said finance minister II Amir Hamzah Azizan (left) is an example of a strong technocrat leader, while former EPF chief strategy officer Nurhisham Hussein is an ideal candidate for the post of economy minister. PETALING JAYA : The post of economy minister should be filled by a technocrat instead of a career politician once Rafizi Ramli's resignation takes effect on June 17, an economist said. Geoffrey Williams said that as the ministry was responsible for devising policies and not implementing them, its head should be able to provide technical economic insight. 'They need to be good at identifying strategic reform priorities and to motivate the need for reform. 'They also need to oversee the design of these policies, and ensure they are feasible for implementation,' he told FMT. Earlier today, Rafizi announced his resignation as economy minister following his recent loss of PKR's deputy presidency in the party polls to Nurul Izzah Anwar. Williams said the future economy minister should not be 'bogged down in politics', as it would cause the ministry to fail in the execution of its function from the outset. 'If it is headed by a charismatic and ambitious politician, it will be used to push career agendas rather than necessary long-term reforms. 'This will damage both the policy design process and the government's credibility, because all reforms will be driven by personal and political agendas,' he said. Williams pointed to the 'successful' appointment of Amir Hamzah Azizan as finance minister II as an example of a strong and largely apolitical technocrat leader. He suggested that Nurhisham Hussein, the senior director of economics and finance in the Prime Minister's Office, would make an ideal candidate. 'He has a strong economic background and a detailed knowledge of policy implementation and how to navigate administrative hurdles,' he said. However, Akademi Nusantara's Azmi Hassan pointed out that appointing technocrats such as Amir would require them to first be appointed as a senator. 'I'm not sure if there's any vacancy for senators except for (investment, trade and industry minister) Tengku Zafrul Aziz's, as his Senate term ends in December,' he said.
Malay Mail
2 days ago
- Business
- Malay Mail
Rafizi quits as economy minister, says he no longer has mandate for reform
KUALA LUMPUR, May 28 — Rafizi Ramli has announced his resignation from the post of Economy Minister, saying he no longer holds the mandate to carry out his party's reform agenda in government. In a statement today, Rafizi said his decision followed his defeat in the recent Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) party elections. 'I joined politics to promote a new political culture rooted in accountability and the people's mandate. 'My recent loss in the PKR elections means I no longer have the mandate from my party to translate the people's agenda into government programmes,' he said. Rafizi said he has submitted his resignation letter to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
