EBRD to deploy 5 billion euros in countries hit by Iran war

LONDON, April 9 (Reuters) - The European Bank ​for Reconstruction ⁠and Development said on Thursday ​it planned to deploy 5 billion euros ($5.9 billion) in 2026 into economies impacted by ​the ‌Middle East conflict.

Here are more details:

•Funds will be used to support ⁠financial institutions, the corporate sector and sustainable ⁠infrastructure, the EBRD said.

•Geographically, the ​focus will be on economies directly affected – Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, and the West Bank and Gaza, as well as a first group of ​affected ‌neighbouring countries, including Egypt, Turkey, Armenia and Azerbaijan.

•Initially the response will provide immediate relief by supporting economic activity, fostering financial sector stabilisation and ensuring the continuity of essential services to shore up growth. •Support ​will seek to strengthen energy security through targeted liquidity support for energy ‌utilities in the short term and accelerate the transition towards more diversified, resilient and domestically anchored ‌energy systems.

•"While the situation remains fluid and highly uncertain, the economic and social impact of the conflict is already being felt across many ​of the Bank’s economies in the form of disrupted trade routes, energy and ‌commodity shocks, weakened investor confidence and broader costs to the population," the EBRD said in a statement.

•The magnitude of the impacts will depend ⁠on how ⁠the situation evolves in the coming weeks and ‌months, the London-headquartered development lender said.

•Since starting operations in the southern and eastern Mediterranean ​in 2012, ​the EBRD has invested more than 26.5  billion euros ‌in 489 projects in the region.

•In Turkey alone, the lender has committed more than 23 billion euros since 2009.