Riad Salameh

Governor of the Central Bank Riad Salameh has been widely credited with steering a prudent monetary course during his time in office, especially during moments of national crisis. Salameh talks to Executive about the outlook for GDP growth, Basel II compliance, the war on money laundering and the selling off of Central Bank assets, as well as the ongoing problems of convening a donor conference. E Given the current political impasse, what is the Central bank’s outlook for GDP development in 2006?Our economic research department, in compliance with the INSEE [National Institute for Statistics and Economic Studies], is predicting a growth rate of between 4% and 5% for 2006. Of course this can be altered if we have political or security problems. E What is your view?I have to go along with the statistics of the departments. E The heady events of 2005 seem a distant memory. Did we make