Beirut, May 2 (IANS): The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is willing to help Lebanon overcome its severe crisis, said IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva, emphasising the importance of implementing reforms in a timely manner.

"Timely implementation of agreed-upon reforms is vital to obtaining the much-needed funding from the international community," Georgieva said, according to a statement released by Lebanon's Council of Ministers on Sunday.

Georgieva's remarks came during her meeting with Lebanon's Deputy Prime Minister Saade Chami in Washington, where the international financial institution is headquartered, to discuss the technical support needed by Lebanon to implement necessary reforms, Xinhua news agency reported.

Chami emphasized the need to pass a few legislations that are necessary to reach a deal with the IMF including the capital control law, amendments to the banking secrecy law and the banking restructuring law.

Chami insisted that the failure to adopt these reforms will have negative repercussions on the Lebanese, while their implementation gives hope for advancement and recovery, in addition to alleviating the severity of the deep crisis.

Lebanon has been suffering from a major financial crisis, plunging over 70 per cent of the population into poverty.