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Article: Boom or bust? (reconstruction policy in Lebanon)(Cover Story)
- Article from:
- The Middle East
- Article date:
- February 1, 1997
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1997 IC Publications Ltd. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Lebanon received a promise of $3 billion in financial assistance for its national reconstruction from the international community at a one-day conference hosted by the United States in December. Until now, Lebanon has attracted only a negligible inflow of investment and even the recent $3 billion promise fell short of Lebanese hopes. Yet while government officials remain optimistic about the ambitious reconstruction plan, others in Lebanon are raising frightening scenarios.
Lebanon's spirit of rehabilitation is embodied in the portly frame of Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri, a billionaire tycoon with a big vision. Hariri believes that mutually valuable commercial ...