Within the context of international support for the stability of Lebanon’s economy and its public finances, the Conférence Economique pour le Développement par les Réformes et avec les Entreprises (CEDRE), which took place on April 6 in Paris, yielded $11.06bn in pledges from the international community to Lebanon. The pledges aim to finance mainly infrastructure projects that the Lebanese government submitted in its Capital Investment Program (CIP). Lebanon's structural challenges, which consist of a wide fiscal deficit and elevated public debt level, have constrained capital spending to less than 1% of GDP per year, while economic growth has been subdued over the past few years. In addition, the Syrian conflict has had significant repercussions on Lebanon, including a massive influx of refugees that further reduced the efficiency of infrastructure and social services in the country. 

A total of 48 countries and international and regional financial institutions participated in the CEDRE conference. About 17 countries and institutions pledged a total of $10.2bn in loans, of which $9.9bn are on concessional terms and about $860m in grants. The participants considered concessional loans and private investments to be the most appropriate options to finance infrastructure projects and to create jobs, given Lebanon’s fiscal constraints.

In parallel, Lebanon pledged to narrow the fiscal deficit by 1% of GDP annually over the next five years, as part of the government’s fiscal consolidation and financial reforms that aim to support macroeconomic stability, gradually reduce the public debt level and help implement the CIP. Fiscal measures include improving tax collection and reducing Treasury transfers to Electricité du Liban. In addition, the government committed to implement structural reforms, which the participants considered to be crucial to attract new public and private investments.

Further, participants at the CEDRE conference stressed the importance of a "robust follow-up mechanism" to ensure the implementation of reforms and the proper disbursement of pledges. In this context, the Lebanese government intends to improve the procedures for the clearance, approval and implementation of externally funded projects with the help of donors and investors. Also, a dedicated website will be established to track project financing and implementation, which aims to ensure transparency. 

In addition, donors announced that they intend to work with the new government that will be formed after the May parliamentary elections on the implementation of the CIP and of the reform agenda, including developing a concrete time-table for reforms.