Lebanese Private Sector Network: ‘We Are Putting Lebanon Back on Track’ – Featuring Amer Bisat, Minister of Economy & Award-Winning Filmmaker & Journalist Daizy Gedeon
June 8, 2025Door stop interview with Lebanon’s Minister of Economy, Mr Amer Bisat, at the @lebanese_private_sector Policy in Action event in Beirut recently, who turned out to be a fan of my award-winning documentary ENOUGH! Lebanon’s Darkest Hour (2022). 😍
Mr Bisat explained that Lebanon has a lot of work ahead of it and the role of the current government is “”to start the process… and put the train back on the right track and make it irreversible.””
“”The point is how do we trigger, how do we ignite spark, not imagination. And this is the reform that we’ve been talking about for the past 100 days…They’re not easy…But they need to be done because if we do them, we will go back to where we deserve to be, right?”” Mr Bisat told me.
Check out my full but brief video 😉
✊🏼🇱🇧❤️
#LebanonWorks #PolicyToAction #DigitalPlatform #Entrepreneurship #TheNetwork #PrivateSector #Innovation #Lebanon #Recovery #بالفعل
English Script:
Daizy: Can I ask you a quick question? My name is Daizy Gedeon.
Amer Bisat: Hello Daizy. Oh you’re a filmmaker, aren’t you?
Daizy: Yes, that’s right.
Amer Bisat: I remember, I’ve seen you before.
Daizy: You have seen the documentary?
Amer Bisat: Yeah, precisely. Which I thought was excellent.
Daizy: Thank you. I wanted to ask you about the economy. I was just talking about this event and the members of the Lebanese private Sector Network presenting to ministers like yourself and the ideas that are coming through. I’m in contact with the diaspora, a great deal. There’s a lot of hesitation still, and also non-Lebanese who are thinking of coming to Lebanon, looking at Lebanon’s economy to invest in. There’s a great deal of uncertainty still, but when you see events like this, and you see the ideas that are being presented, you feel very encouraged. How do you feel? I know you’ve only been in your office for about 100 days. How does it feel now for you, having had the chance to really look under the covers?
Amer Bisat: Dig into it.
Daizy: Yeah.
Amer Bisat: Yeah, exactly. So listen, let me make a very, very broad point and then I’ll go into something more slightly more specific. At the end of the day, the imagination of Lebanon is at its heart a cultural, but also an economic one. When you start thinking what should Lebanon look like? The Lebanon that we’re dreaming of, what is that? It’s a Lebanon that’s prosperous, wealthy, where consumption levels are exciting, where we are internationally integrated, where we speak languages with the private sector’s entrepreneurial dynamic, where the culture is linked in the economy through tourism, movies, theater. That’s the imagination that we have of Lebanon, right? And that place looks nothing like the place that exists today. That discrepancy between what Lebanon, that we imagine the Lebanon that we used to be, and the Lebanon that is. There’s a huge discrepancy, but also an opportunity, like getting back to where we want to be, getting back to where we deserve to be.I’ll even be more quantitative about this. No reason for us to be a $30 billion economy, which means $4,000 per capita, no need to. We should be compared to Cyprus, Portugal. I mean, that’s our natural habitat.
Daizy: Is it possible?
Amer Bisat: Completely possible. Hey, we’ve been there, there are so many episodes in the past where our capacity shown itself through the private sector, tourism, the educational level, the hospitals.
Daizy: What’s preventing us and what are the challenges that you are finding?
Amer Bisat: Absolutely, that’s exactly the point. The point is how do we trigger, how do we ignite spark to that imagination. And this is the reform that we’ve been talking about for the past 100 days. We need to work on our Banks. I mean, they’re not easy. They’re not easy, they’re difficult, they’re politically complicated. But they need to be done. Because if we do them, we will go back to where we deserve to be, right? We’re talking about the banking sector. We need to work on our institutions. We need to work on our governance. We need to bring back electricity, telecommunications, infrastructure. We need to make it easier for the private sector to invest, right? We need to work on security. We cannot not control our borders. We cannot not control our arms in the hands of the state.
Daizy: This ministry only has 10 months left or 11 months.
Amer Bisat: We should start the process. We’re going to put the train on the right track, make it irreversible.
Daizy: And do you hope that you will be minister again to be able to continue this after the next elections?
Amer Bisat: I’m here for a year. My wife will divorce me if I stay. No, I’m joking. The more important thing is we’re here, we’re going to be doing, we’re going to start the process. I think the window has opened. We know what needs to be done. We’re committed to it. I think the society really wants us to succeed. I think what is on the other side of this effort is huge. If we do what needs to be done, a lot can be achieved, and that’s the imagination that we’re working with.
Daizy: Thank you very much, minister. A pleasure to meet you.
Amer Bisat: The pleasure is mine.
Daizy: I’ll be having more deeper conversations with you at another time.
Amer Bisat: I look forward to it.
Daizy: Thank you very much.
