The international community wants to continue helping crisis-ridden Lebanon, but is demanding the formation of a new government and urgently needed reforms. This way, the confidence of the Lebanese people and foreign donors could be regained, declared French President Emmanuel Macron and UN Secretary General António Guterres on Wednesday evening after an international video conference. Macron and Guterres had chaired the discussion.
Conference attendees were concerned that investigations into the devastating explosion in August would be delayed, the statement said. The looming humanitarian crisis is also causing concern. Reforms are absolutely critical to supporting the international community. This had emphatically affirmed its solidarity with the Lebanese people – as well as the obligation to stand by their side in the face of the tragedy. No amount was given for new aid.
Macron had previously called on the international community to provide more crisis aid for Lebanon. “Winter is here, in a country already so injured,” he said at the video conference. He complained that previous commitments to form a government and a reform roadmap had not been kept. Macron announced that he will be traveling to the Middle East this month. As a former colonial power, France still has close ties to the Mediterranean state.
At the beginning of August, a severe explosion struck the port of Beirut. More than 190 people died, over 6,000 were injured and around 300,000 left homeless. A few days after the disaster, a donor conference of the international community raised almost 253 million euros in emergency aid. Macron reported that it had even been paid out more than 280 million euros.
Germany’s Foreign Minister Heiko Maas (SPD) told the German Press Agency that it was “shocking that there was still no progress in the formation of a government or in talks with the International Monetary Fund”. “The parties must now finally live up to their responsibilities and do everything possible to win back people’s trust.”
However, since the days after the explosion, the country has been without a functioning government. Ex-Prime Minister Hassan Diab is only executive in office. The designated new head of government Saad Hariri has not yet succeeded in forming a cabinet.
Maas stressed that the humanitarian situation was noticeably deteriorating. Germany is the second largest donor of humanitarian aid. “However, further long-term aid for reconstruction and economic development depends on the decision-makers in Lebanon,” said the SPD politician. “Because the international community is ready to support a real reform and confidence-building process constructively, but the foundation for this must be laid in Lebanon itself.” Germany is providing 146.5 million euros in humanitarian aid in the current year alone.
Austria made no new aid pledges on Wednesday. Overall, Austria has shown its solidarity with Lebanon after the devastating explosion in Beirut by providing a total of 4.5 million euros, said a spokeswoman for the Foreign Ministry when asked by the APA. She pointed out that the Council of Ministers had decided on Wednesday to distribute 14 million euros from the Foreign Disaster Fund (AKF): 1.5 million euros of this were earmarked for UNICEF and UN Women in Lebanon. Austria will continue to provide humanitarian aid to the “suffering population” of Lebanon in 2021.
According to the French presidential office, King Abdullah II of Jordan, Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and World Bank boss David Malpass were among the several dozen participants in the conference.
Lebanon’s President Michel Aoun said international support was essential for his country. The “multiple tragedies” facing the Lebanese are “dramatic”. The economic crisis has hit their savings and jobs and is now even undermining the future of their children. The entire financial system in Lebanon should be scrutinized, said Aoun. This could identify those responsible for the bankruptcy of the economy and pave the way for reform.
The economic and financial crisis that has persisted since summer 2019, the corona pandemic and the explosion in Beirut have hit the cedar state hard. The Lebanese pound has lost 80 percent of its value. According to calculations by economics professor Steve Hanke from Johns Hopkins University, the annual inflation rate is 365 percent. That is the highest rate of price increases worldwide after Venezuela, said Hanke the magazine “Arabian Business”. According to UN data, 55 percent of residents live in poverty – twice as many as in the previous year.
Quelle: What / Dpa
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