Policies

  Lebanon underwent a process of fundamental change in the final decade of the 20^th century. Among these changes were:

• Shouldering the responsibility of resisting Israel’s occupation and its repeated aggression, in order to liberate the land of Lebano

• Rebuilding the state and its institutions.

• Rebuilding what was destroyed during the war, resolving the problems left by the war, and preparing the country for the future.

• Carrying out fiscal, economic, legal, and political measures to ensure growth. Expanding the economic base, promoting development in the fields of science, technology and information technology and improving the standard of living.

It is the responsibility of any Lebanese government to take these developments forward and face the challenges of a deadlocked peace process. There is a pressing need to redefine Lebanon’s global and regional role, to take into account changing economic, political and technological realities and to address the revolution in the fields of communication and information technology. This does not mean renouncing the achievements of the past. Rather, it should mean adapting to changing circumstances while building on what has already been achieved in the spheres of culture, politics and the economy.

  Lebanon’s commitment to political and economic plurality during the 1990’s has proven to be wise. Economic openness and a free market not only complement the nature of the Lebanese society, it also reflects its ambitions and its maturity. It is also the policy pursued by the vast majority of countries since the fall of the Iron Curtain.

  Lebanon has ushered in the 21^st century with a newfound political maturity and a heightened political understanding. Public freedoms and a parliamentary democracy have been irreversibly established. Historically, Lebanon has a long experience of social and political hegemony within a framework of peaceful co-existence. During the last ten years it has become an example of the mechanics that enable national life to be enriched, coping with inter-communal differences, without damaging the fabric of its democracy and institutions. The state has managed to transform community diversity into a force of renewal and stability, a political strength rather than a burden on political and economic life.

  In 1991, Lebanon chose a path that lead to important and long overdue political reform. It adopted a new constitution that introduced new amendments. Though these reforms were being tested ‑ and still are ‑ against a backdrop of the Arab-Israeli conflict and the repercussions that that has on the internal political scene, basic political consensus does exist and has gained additional strength. Moreover, this consensus has been a main factor in confronting the challenges facing Lebanon and future planning, especially consolidating the rule of law and the practice of democracy.

  It is important to stress that Lebanon has made important economic advances, advances that have radically transformed the country. To cope with a rapidly changing Arab world and global fluctuation, Lebanon concentrated its economy on its comparative strengths and advantages; Advantages that have been developed and capitalized upon. This was done in the face of highly competitive regional economic blocs. Lebanon’s human resources have shown themselves prepared to rise to the challenges of scientific and technological development. To continue to meet these challenges Lebanon must make fundamental changes in the education system itself and in current teaching methods. Lebanon needs to develop its ways of life and thinking, we need to realign our national priorities according to modern economic principles and the introduction of these principles into the Lebanese educational system. Education must lay the foundations for a generation capable of interacting with and capitalizing on changes in all creative and productive domains.

  The comparative advantages that the Lebanese economy enjoys and that it can develop further exist in the domains of trade, tourism, healthcare, banking, education, higher-education, information-technology, media, communications, programming and soft-ware development, insurance, among others.

  Nevertheless, the need for a modern economic culture also underscores the need for development and diversification in our service-based economy. Other countries have superceded us in this process and achieved remarkable results. A service-based economy requires building up a knowledge-based economy founded on creativity, scholarly achievements and intellectual productivity and should address the many aspects of economic life and the productive sectors. Through these new dimensions, Lebanon, thanks to its unique advantages within the region, can achieve its success.

  It is important to invest in a knowledge-based economy to help develop our manufacturing sectors, especially the agriculture and industry sectors, which cannot be left to lag behind world economic and technological developments. In order to compete we must broaden the base of our industrial and agricultural production to include high added value commodities.

  As many Lebanese rely on the agricultural sector for a source of living, the movement believes that we need to diversify and develop specialized and rare agricultural products. This can be done by applying intensive programs of agricultural guidance, by allocating enough funds for building dams and irrigation, by introducing soft loan mechanisms and by encouraging farmers to cultivate new and competitive agricultural products, and opening new foreign markets for such products.

  Expansion and diversification requires a skill base that Lebanon’s young either have or can develop. However, the movement believes that to help the development of this skill-base the state should play a decisive role in creating a suitable environment to encourage investment in education. The state should also adopt measures to lower the cost of industrial production, secure soft loans, and help open foreign markets.

  However, industrial and agricultural development doesn’t mean that the citizen’s right to live in a safe and clean environment is under threat. The movement believes that it is the state’s responsibility to protect the environment and that citizens should be encouraged to participate actively in protecting the environment. This can be achieved through developing environmental awareness, and promoting activities that contribute to protecting the environment and our natural resources.

  The movement realizes that the health sector in Lebanon suffers multiple distortions, including the dangerous proliferation of insuring parties and the various policies they follow. The ongoing rapid increase in the cost of healthcare and medication during the past years has not been accompanied by an equivalent improvement in the quality of medical services and the provision of preventive healthcare. This situation should be seriously addressed without delay. The movement believes it is necessary to protect the healthcare sector from meddling by political influence in order that the problem can be treated objectively. To this end, The Ministry of Health should be the principal party in charge of public health, future planning in the healthcare sector, and the responsibility of optimizing the system so that it can provide a higher standard and quality of care to the people. The ultimate aim is for healthcare to be readily accessible and available to every Lebanese.

  Defining Lebanon’s new horizons can only be achieved by enhancing Lebanon’s regional standing as a center of distinction and excellence. This requires, among other things, strengthening the commitment of the Lebanese people to democratic values, to the independence of the judiciary and to private initiatives in an open and free economic system. It also requires a commitment to encourage and reward excellence. Institutions and programs that cover administration in both public and private sectors must be strengthened. Qualification, efficiency and honesty must be the basic criteria for employment and for promotion. Emphasizing the concepts of serious, conscientious work, competitive productivity, excellence and distinction enhances social values that constitute the basis of accountability.

  Executives in both the public and the private sector must keep abreast of global trends but should not be overwhelmed by them. Neither should they fail to understand our culture and its realities. This way we can go on adapting with minimum difficulty. We can also highlight our comparative advantages and improve our ability to benefit from them.

Dealing with basic economic and political changes in the world necessitates:

• Enhancing political, economic, financial and social stability in Lebanon.

• Completing the rebuilding of our material, educational, and social infrastructure.

• Providing additional investment opportunities through better incentives and eliminating barriers.

• Providing guidance to the public sector to clarify its role and responsibilities so that it can contribute more efficiently to economic development.

• Enhancing the role of the private sector, the cornerstone of the Lebanese economy, by providing it with all the necessary means to ensure growth.

• Improving economic exchanges between Lebanon and the Arab world, whilst striving for an Arab free trade area.

• Creating a network of global economic relations to bring into being a futuristic vision of how Lebanon should deal with and enhance its capabilities in the global economy.

The 1990’s can be viewed in retrospect as a period of difficulty and challenge. Ending the war, consolidating civil peace, rebuilding constitutional authority and the security institutions, and implementing the reconstruction plan, all took place during difficult times, both internally and externally.

The achievements of the past few years have transformed Lebanon and have enabled the Lebanese to see for themselves what was accomplished regarding reconstruction and the development of human resources. Much was also achieved in our international relations. Confidence has been restored in a country that was marginalized and alienated by a war that distorted its international image.

  Asserting these elements of internal and international confidence enhance the political and economic choices available in the program we count on and look forward to. All Lebanese who have an in-depth understanding of Lebanon’s present needs, and its requirements for a better future, share our vision.

  The movement has several ideas and principles; some of which have found consensus among the Lebanese since the end of the war. Others relate to the pioneering role of Lebanon in its Arab setting and others yet are derived from a forward thinking strategy developing the best way to address the futures challenge. All our ideas and principles stem from the following fundamental tennets:

• The National accord.

• Peaceful Co-existence.

• Annulling political sectarianism.

• Political reform.

• Modernizing and reforming public administration.

• Developing Lebanese-Arab relations and foreign policy.

• Stressing the role of society and its younger groups.

• Strengthening the role of education.

• The importance of democracy and socio-economic revival.

• Enforcing the rule of law.

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