Over ten billion in refugee aid
pledged by donor countries

Salam: “Lebanon share
not yet determined.”

Donor states and organizations have pledged billions of dollars in aid to Lebanon, as part of the ‘Supporting Syria and the Region’ conference, held yesterday in London.

Both UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and UK Prime Minister David Cameron said that the conference has raised the largest amount of money ever, in one day, in response to a humanitarian crisis.

The World Bank said that it will dedicate $200 million to increase jobs in Lebanon and Jordan. It is also working on a financing facility with the Islamic Development Bank to gather up to $4 billion for the entire MENA region.

The United States said it will allocate $300 million for improving education and refugee school inclusion in Lebanon and Jordan. France will give $200 million to support youth in Lebanon and an additional $600 million in sovereign loans to all neighboring countries.

Other pledges came from Italy, Japan, Denmark, and Saudi Arabia ($100 million each). Other donor states included Finland, Austria, and Switzerland.

The conference, attended by 30 world leaders was expected to raise $9 billion.

Prime Minister Tamam Salam said: “It is still not known what is share for Lebanon.”

Lebanon had presented during the conference a statement of intent, valued at $11 billion, for the upcoming five years. “We hope we can cover this amount, but it would be okay if we can receive part of it,” said Salam.

Lebanon will receive funds as well as financing for development projects.

Salam said that he met with world leaders. “We are a small country with a big burden. If we handled this matter seriously three years ago, we would have avoided this present situation,” he said.

EIB €12.5 billion by 2020
European Union €3.3 billion by 2016
Germany €2.5 billion by 2018
UK €1.7 billion by 2020
Norway €1.1 billion by 2020
US $900 million by 2016
Italy $400 million by 2018
Japan $350 million by 2018
Saudi Arabia $100 million by 2016