21 November, 2006

(Beirut, 21st of November 2006). The Ambassador of Sweden Ms.Catharina Kipp will sign on behalf of the Sweden Government through the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida) with the Resident Representative of UNDP Dr. Mona Hammam on behalf of the United Nations Development Programme, a cooperative agreement with a total budget of $ 5,486,906 million.

The signing ceremony will take place on the 21st of November at UNDP offices in Beirut. This forms part of the Government of Sweden’s contribution to the Emergency Restoration of Lives and Livelihoods and Recovery Assistance Projects implemented by UNDP-Lebanon in the aftermath of July 2006 war.

This signing ceremony falls within the framework of the Stockholm Conference for Lebanon’s Early Recovery that took place on the 31st of August 2006 in Sweden. The Conference was successful in securing the commitment of the international community to the national early recovery process in Lebanon through mobilizing $900 million of pledges.

The contribution from the Swedish Government (Sida) will be utilized to support three initiatives, namely:

• Support to the Recovery Unit at the Prime Minister’s Office that coordinates the prioritization of recovery efforts and mobilization of resources, as well as coordination among different actors.
  
  
• Integrated Waste Management plan for mixed demolition debris waste in South Lebanon, aiming at providing the necessary infrastructure for processing demolition wastes and giving the municipalities the opportunity to turn their wastes into valuable materials.
  
  
• Emergency Restoration of Lives and Livelihoods in Bekaa and South Lebanon, aiming at addressing the broadest possible range of local community and municipal infrastructure and services to help restore normalcy in these affected communities.