Aoun Meets World Bank Official

President Michel Aoun held talks on Wednesday with World Bank Director for the Middle East Ferid Belhaj where discussions focused on Lebanon's infrastructure improvement, and cooperation to provide the needed funding for reforms, the National News Agency reported.

After the meeting Belhaj said: “We discussed with the President Lebanon's concerns in the financial sector, the development of infrastructure and cooperation to secure the necessary funding and reforms in administrations and projects of interest to Lebanon.”

“Lebanon has top priority in the financing of projects, especially after the regularity of the work of constitutional institutions,” added Belhaj.

The official also stressed “the World Bank is interested in the reforms introduced in Lebanon's 2017 state budget in accordance with the recommendations of Lebanon's Finance and Budget committee."

In February, the World Bank signaled a resumption of international aid months after the election of a president following two and a half years of political vacuum in the country.

It earmarked $200 million for repairing Lebanon's unsafe roads.

Hundreds of millions of dollars in assistance money from the World Bank was held up as Lebanon's long-feuding parties failed to agree on a president for more than two years. In October, the parliament was finally able to elect Free Patriotic Movement founder Michel Aoun as president.