IMF allocates $860m in aid to Lebanon

Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Kristalina Georgieva, announced yesterday that Lebanon will receive $860 million from the IMF’s Special Drawing Rights (SDR) Fund, to  strengthen the country’s depleted reserves and also to help meet the many urgent needs of the Lebanese people.

“It is imperative that SDRs are used responsibly and wisely. It is important everywhere, but so critical for Lebanon, a country in such dire straits. This is a precious resource. It must be deployed for the maximum benefit of the country and its people,” Georgieva said at the International Conference in Support of the Population of Lebanon.

She called upon international and domestic partners to help ensure transparency and accountability of the deployment of Lebanon’s new SDR allocation.

Yesterday marked the first anniversary of the Beirut Port explosion which killed more than 20 people and wounded hundreds of others in addition to causing massive material damage to nearby areas.

READ: 56 injured in protests to mark Beirut blast anniversary

The devastating blast also had significant economic repercussions on the country, with the World Bank warning that the country is likely to rank among the world’s worst financial crises since the mid-19th century.