An international donor web conference was organized by France and the United Nations on the eve of the first anniversary of the Beirut Port blast in an endeavor to raise much needed aid for the crisis-stricken country. The conference, which witnessed the participation of the French, U.S. and Egyptian presidents, among others, the UN Secretary General as well as the participation of supra-national agencies such as the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and the European Commission, succeeded in raising some $370 million in urgent aid for Lebanon, surpassing the $350 million target that was initially set. France pledged some €100 million for Lebanon, in addition to the donation of 500,000 Covid-19 vaccine shots, with the United States offering some $100 million in assistance for Lebanon. The Managing Director of the IMF Mrs. Kristalina Georgieva commented that the Lebanese economy has contracted by nearly one-third since the year 2017, and is anticipated to further contract during the years 2021 and 2022, while also commenting that unemployment is skyrocketing in Lebanon. Mrs. Kristalina also added that Lebanon will be benefiting from some $860 million in Special Drawing Rights (SDRs), while commenting that said critical SDRs should be disbursed “responsibly and wisely”, yet warned that the SDRs are not the answer to Lebanon’s long-term problems. In this context, Mrs. Kristalina identified some areas of action on the long-term, namely addressing the structural issue of weak governance, implementing a fiscal strategy that includes debt restructuring and reforms intended to improve Lebanon’s credibility, restructuring the financial sector and adhering to a credible monetary and exchange rate system that includes the unification of the exchange rates. On its turn, the World Bank Group President Mr. David Malpass highlighted that Lebanon was one of the first countries to benefit from the World Bank’s support for Covid-19 vaccinations while commenting that significant funds have been committed to an Emergency Social Safety Net Project that aims at supporting the poor. Mr. Malpass warned that food and water supplies are at risk and that the currency is collapsing, yet indicated that the World Bank will be aiding small businesses that were affected by the Beirut port blast, along with cooperating with partners to rebuild the damaged port. As far as the European Commission (EC) is concerned, the High Representative/Vice-President Mr. Josep Borrell indicated that the port blast has sizeably restricted access for basic services for many Lebanese, and that accordingly the EU has back-then mobilized some €170 million in urgent aid to tackle its consequences. In addition, Mr. Borell commented that the EU provided some €83 million in assistance to Lebanon in 2020 and that an additional €5.5 million will be channeled to support the health sector in Lebanon. Mr. Borell also uncovered that the EU has reoriented projects worth some €265 million in order to support those affected by the port blast and Covid-19 pandemic in Lebanon. Finally, all participants in the conference stressed on the importance of the formation of a new government that undertakes structural reforms in order to put the country on the right track for recovery.