Ambassador Shorter: The UK Has Not Forgotten Akkar
On his first visit to Akkar’s municipal projects under the Lebanon Host Communities Support Program, in partnership with the Ministry of Social Affairs and the United Nations Development Program, British Ambassador to Lebanon Hugo Shorter inaugurated Thursday UK funded projects in Bani Sakher and Halba, and met with 13 mayors from various municipalities in Akkar which are receiving UK funding for infrastructure projects.
He was accompanied by Luca Renda, Country Director UNDP, and Suheir El Ghali, the National Coordinator of LHSP Program at the Ministry of Social Affairs.
In Amayer, Shorter met with mayors of nine municipalities of Wadi Khaled area: Amayer – Al Fared – Wadi Khaled - Khat El Petrol - Bani Sakher - El Ramah – Moqaybleh – Hisheh and Awada.
He visited two irrigation canals extending across 2200m in Bani Sakher and met with the farmers and land owners. The project has helped farmers increase their income by enabling them to diversify their crop production to include more water-rich crops such as eggplants, beans, and peanuts as well as decreasing operations costs. It is also helping improve health and sanitation in the local community by reducing risks of water contamination with wastewater and solid waste.
In the town of Halba, Ambassador Shorter inaugurated the newly established Halba market, in presence of Akkar Governor Imad Labaki and listened to heads of El Hissa, Tell Meayan, Bebnine, Tell Abbas Gharbi and Halba municipalities who shared their hopes about the future of the region.
Set in 6,000m2 of public space, the market has the capacity to accommodate around 390 traders yearly that come from 216 villages in Akkar. Located in the center of Halba and easily accessible for residents living in the Akkar governorate, the public market facility will be operational seven days a week serving all residents of the area.
“Today, I want to say: the UK has not forgotten Akkar. Seeing is believing. Seeing the mayors of 14 municipalities in Akkar, farmers, land owners, individual producers, women cooperatives from various villages in Akkar, all working together with pride and doing their bit to improve the livelihoods of their communities, I believe that Lebanon with its resilience and with the UK standing by your side, will make a success out of the current crisis. It makes me proud to see how the UK is supporting you on the ground with actions, not just words,” Shorter said.
“The Akkar district, like many regions in Lebanon, has been affected by the presence of very large numbers of Syrian refugees, hosted generously by your communities with limited resources, creating unprecedented challenging circumstances for many of your municipalities. We recognize the difficulties and we have responded with projects that match your needs. We have funded 19 municipality projects in Akkar since 2015. A public market in Halba that serves over half a million residents, with 390 traders coming from 216 villages in Akkar. Over 2200m of irrigation canals for better crops, and water management,” he added.
According to the British Embassy, Lebanon is the second largest recipient of UK aid in the Middle East and the second largest recipient of UK aid per head in the world.
“Our total support to Lebanese stability, prosperity and security has reached £436m since 2011,” the embassy said in a statement.
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