International Community Endorses New Initiative to Support Refugees, Host Communities, Recovery and Reconstruction in the Middle East and North Africa
WASHINGTON, April 15, 2016 – Eight nations and the European Commission today pledged a package of more than US$1 billion — US$141 million in grants, US$1 billion in soft loans, US$500 million in guarantees – to a World Bank-led financing initiative in support of Syrian refugees and host communities in Jordan and Lebanon, as well as recovery and reconstruction across the region. The package means that the new facility will be able to generate up to US$800 million in concessional loans in the next year.

Japan, France, the United Kingdom, the United States, Germany, Canada, the Netherlands, Norway and the European Commission each pledged their initial financial contributions to the New Financing Initiative to Support the Middle East and North Africa Region. The pledging occurred at a ministerial conference co-chaired by the President of the World Bank Group, the Secretary General of the United Nations and the President of the Islamic Development Bank Group. The conference brought together ministers from G7, Gulf Cooperation Council, European and MENA countries, as well as the heads of various multilateral development banks and international organizations.

“Today’s strong show of support for the people of the Middle East and North Africa is an example of how the international community can come together to address major challenges,” said World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim. “These grants mean we can now begin expanding programs to help Jordan and Lebanon cope with the impact of the Syrian refugee crisis, while guarantees will allow multi-lateral development banks to increase their financing in support of countries across the region confronting the multiple consequences of instability. I am confident of mobilizing additional support for recovery and reconstruction, and reaching our goal of raising US$1 billion in grants over the next five years, which we will leverage to create US$3 to 4 billion in much needed concessional financing.”

The new financing initiative was launched jointly by the World Bank Group, the United Nations and the Islamic Development Bank Group in October of last year. The goal of the initiative is to rally the international community and improve coordination among international organizations, to meet the scale of both the MENA region’s humanitarian and development needs. The three organizations formed a working group which over the last six months, together with representatives of 26 supporting and benefitting countries, as well as nine regional and international organizations, has focused on developing the structure of the initiative and a roadmap for its implementation.