Lebanon’s Prime Minister Saad Hariri said his government would submit to the CEDRE conference a comprehensive vision for stability and sustainable long-term growth and job creation. He added that the government’s objective at the Brussels Conference was to ensure that Lebanon’s Crisis Response Program was appropriately funded, that multiyear commitments were secured, and that support to host communities was substantial. Hariri made his remarks during a meeting on Monday evening of the High-Level Steering Committee at the Grand Serail, in preparation for the CEDRE and Brussels conferences. “The Government of Lebanon is very grateful that the Government of France is convening the CEDRE Conference on April 6, 2018. CEDRE represents another important milestone to reaffirm the international community’s commitment to Lebanons economic stability and prosperity,” he stated. “The government is submitting to the conference not only its Capital Investment Program, but also a comprehensive vision for stability and sustainable long-term growth and job creation. This vision is underpinned with an increase in investments in infrastructure with an increased role for the private sector,” he added. The Lebanese premier emphasized the presence of national consensus over the need to implement fiscal and structural reforms. “There is a consensus and convergence in Lebanon on the need for fiscal adjustment to maintain macroeconomic stability,” he said, adding: “Moreover, there is consensus that the economy’s full potential for sustained private sector-led growth will not be achieved unless we embark on long- awaited structural and sectoral reforms.” He also called on the international community to assist Lebanon in its difficult task of hosting one and a half million Syrian refugees. “I call again on our friends in the international community to help Lebanon in its huge task of hosting one and a half million Syrians displaced, and I emphasize once again that… a failure to help Lebanon will force the displaced to seek refuge elsewhere,” he stated.