Washington:
US President Joe Biden on Wednesday promised $one hundred million in added help for Lebanon as he pressed the crisis-wracked nation to undergo reforms.
“Today I’m announcing nearly a $100 million in new humanitarian assistance,” Biden told a UN-backed donor conference for Lebanon led by France.
“But no amount of outside assistance will ever be enough if Lebanon’s leaders do not commit to do the hard but necessary work of reforming the economy and combating corruption,” he stated.
“It’s essential. It has to start now,” Biden stated. “There’s no time to waste. You know it. We are there to help if you do it.”
The Biden administration did not quickly specify exactly where the new funding would go but Biden stated it was in addition to $560 million in humanitarian help devoted to Lebanon more than the previous two years.
The Lebanon conference comes one year soon after an explosion at the Beirut port killed at least 214 folks, the newest trauma for a nation with an economy in no cost-fall and without the need of a steady government.
“I send my deepest condolences to all those who were injured and lost loved ones and all those still struggling to recover from this trauma,” Biden stated.
“We also recognize that the people of Lebanon have suffered more over the past year because of avoidable political and economic crisis.”
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