BEIRUT, March 17 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – Impoverished groups in Lebanon may soon receive more aid after a letter from international donors showed on Wednesday that there had been an agreement to distribute hard currency aid as the Lebanese pound collapsed to a new low.

Aid to the country amid a financial crisis exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic had previously been distributed in Lebanese pounds at rates set by the Central Bank.

But in a letter to the country’s finance ministry seen by the Thomson Reuters Foundation, officials from the European Union, the United Nations and the World Bank said they “took note of the verbal agreement” reached on February 22 by the head of the Central Bank and the Deputy Prime Minister. for aid to be paid in US dollars.

“We are convinced that you share the urgency of deploying the agreed disbursement mechanisms as soon as possible, in order to ensure the coherence and continuity of aid in increasingly difficult socio-economic conditions”, indicates the letter. .

Outgoing Finance Minister Ghazi Wazni and a World Bank spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment. An EU spokesperson said they would make comments soon.

Lebanon’s parliament last week approved a $ 246 million loan from the World Bank for a social safety net. According to the loan agreement, it would be returned in Lebanese pounds. (Reporting by Timour Azhari @timourazhari Editing by Belinda Goldsmith Please credit the Thomson Reuters Foundation, the charitable arm of Thomson Reuters, which covers the lives of people around the world who struggle to live freely or fairly. news.trust.org)