Lebanon

Lebanon is located in the Middle East between Syria and Israel. The security situation is fragile due to geopolitical conflicts. Lebanon's population comprises diverse religious groups. The country has taken in over 1 million Syrian refugees since 2011. In addition, Lebanon has been home to numerous Palestinian refugees for decades, making it the country in the world with the highest percentage of refugees, given its population of approximately 4.5 million Lebanese.

A long civil war raged in Lebanon from 1975 to 1990, after which prosperity in the small country on the Mediterranean rose substantially. As a modern, dynamic metropolis, the capital Beirut was able to return to its earlier days as the "Paris of the Middle East". However, since the end of 2019, the country has once again found itself in a deep political and economic crisis, which the World Bank describes as one of the most severe crises worldwide in the last hundred years: The domestic currency continues to lose its value, statehood is very weak, poverty among Lebanese and refugees is rising significantly, food is scarce. Added to this is the tough reconstruction of parts of Beirut after the heavy explosion in August 2020. On behalf of the German Federal Government, KfW is active in the following core themes in Lebanon:

• Peace and social cohesion,
• Sustainable economic development, training and employment,
• Protection of livelihoods.

The projects are implemented by the Lebanese Government, but also by international non-governmental organisations and numerous UN agencies. The core theme "Peace and Social Cohesion" aims to support the people of Lebanon in overcoming the multidimensional crisis in the medium term and in building peaceful governance and social cohesion in the long term - a long-term goal in which it is also necessary to accept setbacks. In the core theme "Sustainable economic development, training and employment", KfW would like to provide more extensive support to the Lebanese government in the provision of vocational training and employment opportunities in the future. This is intended to combat the rising informal and formal unemployment. In the core theme "Protecting our livelihoods", water supply and sanitation services are to be strengthened, thereby reducing health and environmental risks. In addition, KfW supports the Lebanese government in providing school education in the public and informal sectors. There are also various programmes to support Palestinian refugees. A "COVID response" project is also being implemented as a rapid reaction to the Corona pandemic. Lebanon and thus also Financial Cooperation with Lebanon face numerous challenges. It is therefore all the more important that KfW can already contribute to strengthening the resilience of the Lebanese population and improving the situation of refugees. In this way, the relevant portfolio can hopefully support the population in finding a way out of the crisis.