The US Dollar and Lebanese Pound (USD/LBP) market exchange rate skyrockets, and since the October 2019 uprising, the public “debate” has shifted to focus on the fight against corruption. The economic crisis in Lebanon has been an ongoing freefall and was bound to happen ever since the establishment of the post-civil war economic model, coupled with massive corruption and years of neglect.

One of the major reforms that could reshape Lebanon’s economy towards a more sustainable model is the reform of public procurement. This reform was a cornerstone in 2018 in the design of the CEDRE conference.

Lebanon’s public procurement system was fragmented, inefficient, and deeply corrupt and the quality of the procurement system was below average. It accounts for 20% of the central government expenditure and 6.5% of the gross domestic product (around USD 3.4 billion) yearly. According to Transparency International, Lebanon ranks 137 over 180 countries when it comes to the quality of public procurement.