June 14, 2011- Minister of Finance Mohammad Safadi gave a lecture Wednesday in Paris on the New Political Economy for Lebanon and the Arab Region, upon invitation from the French Lebanese Chamber of Commerce.

Safadi addressed the weakness of the local economic and social performance which he attributed to two fundamental obstacles: the educational system and the nature of official institutions.

The newly-appointed Minister of Finance and former Minister of Economy called for partnership between the private and public sectors, so as to help finance infrastructure projects, especially in the sectors of energy, water, transportation and telecommunication.