Lebanon’s PM says preliminary talks with IMF moving forward

BEIRUT (AP) — Lebanon’s prime minister says that preliminary talks with the International Monetary Fund are moving forward as the small nation works to pull itself out of one of the worst economic crises in more than a century. Najib Mikati said during an economic conference Monday that an amended financial recovery plan by the government’s financial adviser will be ready by the end of November. Mikati’s announcement comes a month after Lebanon’s Finance Ministry said it has resumed “interactions” with the IMF on a bailout plan. Deep disagreements festered within the Lebanese delegation during last year’s negotiations with the IMF, with the government on one side and the central bank and local lenders on the other.