09 February 2017

BEIRUT: The Italian government will contribute over 100 million euros ($107 million) for infrastructure and supporting Lebanon with the Syrian crisis over the next year, Italian Undersecretary of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Vincenzo Amendola confirmed Wednesday. The Italian official just concluded a three-day visit to Lebanon to meet with Lebanese ministers to discuss the prospects for international assistance to Lebanon in the light of the Syrian refugee crisis.

“We hope Lebanon’s stability will increasingly play a positive role in the region, because Syria’s future is intertwined with the future of the whole Mediterranean region,” Amendola said in an interview with The Daily Star. He added that during his brief visit he assured the government that Italy remains committed to supporting Lebanon and pledged to increase its financial assistance in 2017.

He said Italy’s support this year will include contributing 75 million euros to finance new infrastructures and services and to provide 30 million euro in grants to help improve the living conditions of both Syrians refugees and Lebanese the host community. Amendola also said his government were committedto funding a project to build three industrial parks in Lebanon that has the potential to generate over 30,000 jobs and expressed his hopes that other donors would contribute to it.

“We will voice our support for [such projects] in Lebanon also in our meetings within the European Union,” Amendola said. According to the Italian official, his government is “ready to consider the proposals of the Lebanese master plan, which should help international donors effectively address the dramatic needs of Lebanon.”

On Jan. 19, Prime Minister Saad Hariri announced a new Lebanon Crisis Response Plan for the next three years alongside international donors and the UNHCR. The plan lays out needs and areas of priority for the government to tackle.

During separate meetings with Interior Minister Nouhad Machnouk, Minister of State for Refugee Affairs Mouin Merehbi and Finance Minister Ali Hasan Khalil, among other officials, Amendola expressed Italy’s intention to promote projects that boost Lebanon’s infrastructure and create new job opportunities for both Lebanese and Syrians as part of a shift toward a more sustainable aid provision.

“We need to focus on and address more specific target, which is something all the ministers I met seemed to agree on,” Amendola told The Daily Star. “If the Lebanese economy flourishes, the refugees will also benefit from it while if this does not happen, their burden will definitively collapse an already precarious situation.”

The Italian Embassy in Beirut said that since 2012 their country has contributed to the Syrian crisis response through a disbursed budget of over 66 million euros that has allowed for the implementation of more than 100 initiatives.

Amendola also expressed his congratulation to the new government in Lebanon, which he said had restored confidence in the political process. He added that the preparation of a state budget – which he said was essential to assessing the level of financial assistance needed – and the reform of the electoral law will be a sign that Lebanon is moving in the right direction to renew its centrality in the region.

Amendola also stressed the importance of maintaining and securing Lebanon’s borders and pledged to continue Italy’s involvement with the U.N. Interim Force in Lebanon in the south of Lebanon, as well as further its support to the Lebanese Army through training missions with the Italian Armed Forces.

“The Mediterranean must go back to being an area of development and peace, sharing common values of tolerance,” Amendola told The Daily Star. “Lebanon [must set] an example [that the region] will always keep in mind.”

Copyright The Daily Star 2017.