Beirut: Lebanon said Saturday it would default on its Eurobond debt for the first time and seek out debt restructuring agreements amid a spiralling financial crisis that has hit foreign reserves.
Foreign currency reserves have fallen to "a worrying and dangerous level which pushes the Lebanese government to suspend payment of the March 9 Eurobond maturity because of a need for these funds," Prime Minister Hassan Diab said in an address to the nation.
"The Lebanese state will seek to restructure its debts," added Diab, whose self-styled government of technocrats was formed in January to tackle an intensifying financial crisis amid unprecedented protests.