The Council of Ministers approved an endowment by the Italian government to combat the effects of the Syrian crisis on the local market. The grant, totaling $520,000, will be managed by the Ministry of Social Affairs.

The International Support Group for Lebanon (ISGL) had convened several times so far to discuss means to mitigate the impact of the Syrian crisis.

The ISGL was launched in New York last September with the aim of supporting Lebanon’s institutions to address the presence of over a million Syrian refugees on its territories.

Last year, the World Bank said in a report that the Syrian crisis cost Lebanon over $7.5 billion in cumulative economic losses by end of 2014.