Dr. Amer Bisat and Sarah Himadeh
Lebanon’s Economic Meltdown: Why and What’s Next?
Tuesday, December 14, 2021 | 6:30 PM – 8:30 PM
Lebanon is experiencing its worst economic downturn in modern history and the world isn’t paying much attention. Starting with a financial crisis in 2019, the situation only became worse with the pandemic and the explosion at the port of Beirut in 2020 that killed more than 200 people. At the moment, weekly grocery bills can equal months of a typical family’s income and basic medicines and gas are often unavailable. The World Bank has called Lebanon’s crisis one of the worst financial crises in the centuries and the newspaper The Guardian has claimed that Lebanon could soon become a “failed state” on par with Libya or Yemen. So how did Lebanon get here? What are the current economic, social, and political situations in the country? What can the international community do about it? Join us on Tuesday, December 14 at 6.30 PM for an IN-PERSON conversation with Dr. Amer Bisat, Managing Director and Head of Sovereign and Emerging Markets (alpha) at BlackRock, who will be in conversation with our moderator, Sarah Himadeh, a Lebanese Actress, Activist, and Singer, to discuss these questions.
NOT YET A NETWORK 20/20’S MEMBER?
Apply today to enjoy all exclusive briefings with high-profile speakers
SPEAKER:
Amer Bisat, PhD., is Managing Director and Head of Sovereign and Emerging Markets (alpha) at BlackRock. At BlackRock, Dr. Bisat leads a team managing approximately $20 billion in EM government and corporate bonds; is a member of the Fundamental Fixed Income ExCo; and is a named PM on several flagship funds. Prior to BlackRock, Dr. Bisat held portfolio management positions at Morgan Stanley and UBS. Between 1991 and 1998, he was a senior economist at the IMF where he was part of teams that negotiated high profile programs in Russia, Ukraine and Egypt. He taught graduate level economics at Columbia University, co-authored a book on globalization, and published a number of papers on growth and financial economics. He is the former Chairman of the Arab Banking Association of North America (ABANA), sits on the Board of several cultural and non-profit institutions and is a member of the Council of Foreign Relations. He earned a BA in economics from the American University of Beirut and a PhD in economics and finance from Columbia University.
MODERATOR:
Sarah Himadeh is a Lebanese Actress, Activist, and Singer. Learn more about her at https://www.sarahhimadeh.com/
NOT YET A NETWORK 20/20’S MEMBER?
Apply today to enjoy all exclusive briefings with high-profile speakers
We are trying our best to keep our community informed about foreign affairs, and we would appreciate if you can support us to keep this virtual briefing series going. No amount is too small
