Salam Appeals for 'Effective Assistance' to Avoid Economic Collapse
Prime Minister Tammam Salam appealed on Tuesday for the assistance of the international community to prevent the collapse of the economic structure as a result of the Syrian refugee crisis.
Speaking during a meeting with visiting World Bank chief Yong Kim, Salam said: “Lebanon is in dire need for an effective support to prevent the collapse of the economic structure that also affects stability and security.”
The meeting at the Grand Serail was attended by Finance Minister Ali Hassan Khalil, the representatives of countries from around the world and U.N. Special Coordinator for Lebanon Derek Plumbly.
“This meeting comes at a difficult stage for Lebanon,” Salam said.
“Lebanon suffered from a drop in economic activity in all sectors after the start of the Syrian crisis in 2011,” he added.
The World Bank and U.N. specialized agencies made a study on the impact of refugees on services, which showed that the damages would double if the refugees continued to stream to Lebanon, Salam told the conferees.
“We are not able to carry the burden of the refugees alone,” he stressed. “Lebanon will not be the country we know today if we don't confront the crisis.”
Salam thanked the countries that provided assistance to Lebanon, hoping they would continue to do so. But he appealed for more international support to “avoid a crisis that could spread to the region.”
“It is impossible to bring back the economic situation to where it was before the Syrian conflict,” Salam said.
“One of the biggest challenges is to have stability to hold the presidential elections in accordance with the Constitution. This requires the unity of the parties that formed the cabinet,” he said.
Kim, who arrived in Beirut on Monday, said during the meeting that the international community “should work to assist the Lebanese government and people.”
Kim urged the ambassadors of countries who assisted the meeting to contribute to the fund established to help Lebanon confront the refugee crisis.
He hoped that the World Bank and the International Support Group for Lebanon would reach some solutions in the near future.
The Group, which was first established in New York in September 2013, undertook to work together to mobilize support for the sovereignty and state institutions of Lebanon and to highlight and promote efforts to assist the country where it was most affected by the Syrian crisis, including in respect of strengthening the capacity of the Lebanese Armed Forces, assistance to refugees, and structural and financial support to the government.
Plumbly told the conference that “the burden on the Lebanese government is increasing with time.”
But he stressed that “cooperation is ongoing with the World Bank to resolve the Syrian refugee crisis.”
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