Lebanon’s Finance Minister today said that the heavily indebted country is approaching a financial crisis, as political deadlock continues. Nearly eight months since parliamentary elections, Prime Minister-designate Saad al-Hariri has been unable to form a new government that can deliver fiscal reform.

With the world’s third-highest ratio of debt to GDP, Lebanon has endured years of weak economic growth. It was urged by the International Monetary Fund this year to carry out urgent measures to put public finances back on a sustainable footing.