Lebanon, Islamic bank sign $26 million agreement

Lebanon and the Islamic Development Bank on Saturday signed a $26 million agreement to finance equipment for the government-run Beirut University Hospital.

The agreement was signed in Beirut by the Bank's president, Ahmad Mohammed Ali, and Nabil Jisr, head of the Council for Development and Reconstruction in Lebanon.

The agreement brought the total amount of the Islamic Bank's participation to Lebanon's reconstruction process to $192.8 million, mainly in the fields of electricity, health, education and telecommunications.

Ali is in Lebanon to oversee projects financed by the bank which are already underway. He said a delegation from the Saudi-based bank will visit Lebanon next month to discuss the financing of other projects.