Finance Minister Yassine Jaber revealed Wednesday that Lebanon obtained a preliminary agreement to increase the value of a World Bank (WB) loan for reconstruction from $250 to $400 million, according to a statement from the ministry's media office.  Jaber is currently in Washington, meeting WB and International Monetary Fund (IMF) officials on the sidelines of the two global financial institutions' spring meetings. "The total value of loans granted to Lebanon, which will be granted on favorable terms with a repayment period of up to 50 years, will amount to approximately $1 billion," Jaber announced after one particular meeting with a WB official.  According to the ministry statement, the total sum will be divided roughly as follows: $250 million, approved and signed on Wednesday, will be allocated to the electricity sector, particularly to transportation networks; $256 million will go to water; $200 million to agriculture; and $200 million to social affairs.  Jaber is accompanied by a Lebanese delegation that includes Parliamentary Finance Committee President Ibrahim Kanaan and the new Banque du Liban governor, Karim Souhaid. Wednesday was their third consecutive day of meetings, during which Jaber notably met with the IMF's managing director, Kristalina Georgieva. Jaber reportedly told Georgieva that Lebanon is making "serious progress" on reforms and "accelerating the adoption of the necessary legislation for their implementation." He was also due to speak later in the day with the president of the World Bank.  During a meeting with the G24, a group that brings together several Arab countries, including Lebanon, Egypt, and the United Arab Emirates, Jaber assured that Speaker of Parliament Nabih Berri is "determined to facilitate and accelerate the adoption of reformist laws," an essential condition for obtaining aid and loans, crucial for advancing reconstruction, recovery, and reform projects. (ICE BEIRUT)

Fonte notizia: L'Orient Today