The Minister of Finance, Yassin Jaber, discussed with a high-level delegation from the World Bank the paths of bilateral partnership and the most prominent priority cooperation files, during a meeting held in his office in the ministry.
The World Bank delegation included the Regional Director for the Middle East, Dalia Khalifa, the Director of the Lebanon Office, Enrique Armas, and the Senior Financial Management Specialist, Rima Qutaish. On the Lebanese side, the meeting was attended by the Director General of Finance, George Maarawi, and the advisors, Samir Hammoud and Zeina Qassem.
The meeting’s agenda was topped by the regional connectivity project via road and railway networks, and its vital role in stimulating trade and revitalizing the national economy. The discussion also touched on reforming the electricity sector, with a special focus on expanding the scope of application of the metering system to improve collection efficiency and support the transportation network within the existing joint project.
In administrative and financial matters, the two sides discussed the path of reforming trade and customs, and providing the additional financing necessary to support the reform package in customs administration, as well as ways to launch housing loans, solar energy financing programs, and activating the partnership between the public and private sectors (PPP).
The meeting discussed mechanisms for providing guarantees in cooperation with the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA), and a review of the ongoing talks with the International Finance Corporation (IFC) regarding these financing programs.
The discussions also included the digital identity project and the digital laboratory being implemented in the Office of the Minister of State for Administrative Development Affairs (OMSAR), in addition to evaluating the completion rates in existing projects, especially the “GATE” and “LEAP” projects.
At the conclusion of the meeting, Minister Yassine Jaber stressed the Ministry of Finance’s commitment to accelerating the pace of reforms and strengthening cooperation frameworks with the World Bank, thus contributing to supporting the economic recovery path in Lebanon and developing public revenues.
