Baabda: President of the Republic, General Joseph Aoun, informed Chairman of the Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development, Bader Mohammed Al-Saad, during a meeting at Baabda Palace this morning, that ‘the difficult circumstances which hindered Lebanon’s development and reconstruction efforts are now behind us. We look to the future with optimism, committed to rebuilding the state on new foundations, chiefly economic and financial reforms. We are relying on transparency, good governance, and facilitating the work of financial institutions that have long supported Lebanon, including the Arab Fund which has financed several projects in coordination with the Council for Development and Reconstruction.’
According to National News Agency – Lebanon, President Aoun emphasized that ‘the new phase requires the support of our Arab brothers who have always stood by Lebanon and its people. We welcome any new initiative that contributes to the recovery process, which has already begun with measures taken by the government and which will continue.’
Moreover, the President thanked the Arab Fund for its renewed interest in Lebanon, saying the country ‘is beginning to regain the confidence of its brothers and friends,’ and praised Council for Development and Reconstruction (CDR) President Nabil El-Jisr for his efforts and for fostering relations with Arab and international development institutions.
During the meeting, which was also attended by El-Jisr, Bader Al-Saad said, ‘The purpose of my visit with the accompanying delegation is to reactivate development operations funded by the Arab Fund, which were suspended for years.’ He reaffirmed the Fund’s commitment to fulfilling its loan agreements with Lebanon, prioritizing development projects, particularly in education and healthcare. He also noted ongoing cooperation with the World Bank and said meetings would be held with relevant ministers to assess the country’s needs, expressing hope that Lebanon would provide the necessary facilitation to jumpstart implementation.
Following the meeting, Al-Saad told journalists: ‘We were honored to meet the President. The discussion was fruitful and cordial. The Arab Fund wanted to be the first development institution to resume activity in Lebanon. We discussed our readiness to offer concessional loans to help relaunch development. We await the Lebanese government’s identification of project priorities. We also expressed readiness to contribute to capacity-building, including training technical staff in ministries and security agencies.’
Al-Saad continued: ‘We touched on various potential projects-in electricity, water, education, health, and roads. We informed the President that we will meet with the Ministers of Finance, Economy, and Social Development, as well as the Central Bank Governor and the CDR. A team is already at the CDR discussing current and future projects.’
Asked whether Kuwait imposes any specific criteria for financing projects in Lebanon, Al-Saad replied: ‘We have no conditions. There is a joint protocol with the CDR. They submit a project, we conduct a preliminary feasibility study, and if it is economically viable, we approve it. What we seek now is to streamline the process; we’ll handle the technical study and then finance the project.’
‘The relationship between Kuwait and Lebanon is deep-rooted, longstanding, and above suspicion-and will remain so,’ Al-Saad concluded.
For his part, CDR President Nabil El-Jisr noted: ‘What’s new is that the Arab Fund is now willing to assist us even in the initial stages-preparing tables, basic studies, and feasibility assessments-which is a major shift from past procedures.’