56 participants from international organizations, government, business community, civil society, as well as procurement professionals joined the panel discussion entitled “Evidence-based approach to reforming public procurement in Lebanon: Findings of MAPS Assessment and the Way Forward”, organized by the Institut des Finances Basil Fuleihan, in partnership with the World Bank and the Agence Française de Développement (AFD).

Panelists Ms. Lina Fares from the World Bank and Mr. Côme Dechery from AFD gave an overview of MAPS assessment as worldwide tool to assessment the performance of procurement systems, and presented the process that lead Lebanon to request support to implement MAPS. Mr. Daniel Ivarsson, MAPS Lead Expert for Lebanon exposed the assessment’s findings that showed a high level of non-compliance with international standards and substantive gaps at the legal, institutional, operational, and transparency levels, and highlighted report’s recommendations towards a modern and efficient procurement system.

The panel was an opportunity to highlight the importance of building on MAPS recommendations to set a clear public procurement reform framework for Lebanon, with necessary tools and resources allocated, in order to sustain current efforts and achieve reform outcomes. It was the occasion to reiterate the need for the international community’s support to the efforts lead by the Institut des Finances in order to ensure sound and sustainable reform implementation.