BEIRUT -- The Arab Monetary Fund has signed on Tuesday two loan agreements with Lebanon worth USD 130 million as part of pledges made at the Paris III donors' conference.

One loan is for USD 90 million, marked for oil purchases and the second is for USD 40 and will go to meet Lebanon's credit obligations.

Both are given with the understanding that Lebanon will streamline its government finances.
Finance minister Muhammad Shateh emphasized, after he signed the loan agreements with the Monetary Fund chief Jassem al-Menaei, that the money from the loans would be of great help to the nation's faltering finances.

Al-Menaei said the USD 90 million loan was needed to lower the burden of the oil bill which has been increasing for a long time, incurring a sizable debt to Lebanon, adding that the Monetary Fund was always ready to help Lebanon, as he affirmed the necessity for government reforms.

Not only does the Fund provide monetary aid to Lebanon but it invariably trains Lebanese cadres in the economic institute overseen by the Fund, he said.

With the signing of the two loans, the total value of loans received by Lebanon from the Monetary Fund comes to USD 211 million whereas contributions of the Arab Finance Program to the Lebanese public and private sectors have amounted to USD 1.1 billion. -Kuna