Report: CEDRE Funding Set to Stay ‘Locked’ Until Govt. Activity Resumes

The loans and grants pledged for Lebanon at the Paris CEDRE conference last year are set to stay “locked” until the Lebanese government resumes normal activity and “serious” work, al-Joumhouria daily reported on Tuesday.

According to diplomatic sources, the donor countries at the Conference for Economic Development and Reform through Enterprises (CEDRE) are “dismayed” by the “indifference and irresponsibility” of Lebanese authorities regarding the conditions set at the conference in order for Lebanon to benefit from the funding, said the daily.

Several EU ambassadors have met with senior Lebanese officials last week, at the request of their governments, informing them that the CEDRE agreement was in “danger,” and that the donor countries were “not satisfied” with the measures taken by the Lebanese state. They said donors are still waiting for the reforms that Lebanon has pledged to.

Donors at the CEDRE conference last year in Paris pledged $11 billion in aid and soft loans to Lebanon which are conditional upon the implementation of reforms that Lebanon committed to.