Netherlands grants Lebanon $92M to cope with refugees

BEIRUT – The Netherlands has granted Lebanon 80 million euros ($92.3 million) until the end of 2017 to help the tiny Arab country cope with hundreds of thousands of Syrian refugees.

The announcement was made Tuesday by Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte during a brief visit to Beirut, where he met with Lebanese Prime Minister Tammam Salam before visiting an informal refugee settlement in southern Lebanon.

Rutte says a memorandum of understanding to provide more export opportunities for Lebanese agriculture was also signed.

Lilianne Ploumen, the Dutch Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation, says her country has been supporting Lebanon, which “needs support from the international community.”

Lebanon is home to more than a million registered Syrian refugees, the equivalent of a quarter of its population of 4.5 million.

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