Italian Cooperation has been part of Lebanon’s story since 1983, when the two governments signed their first agreement to support the country’s recovery from civil war.
One of the earliest results was the construction of a water pumping station on the suburbs of Beirut, a vital piece of infrastructure that still plays a key role in supplying water to the capital today.
From this initial project, Italian Cooperation has maintained a constant presence in the country, working with Lebanese institutions and civil society both for post-war reconstruction and to support the most vulnerable social groups.
This commitment intensified significantly after the 2006 conflict, with the opening of a permanent office of Italian Cooperation in Lebanon.
The Beirut Office of the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation (AICS) serves as the strategic hub from which the many cooperation initiatives promoted by Italy in Lebanon and Syria are developed, supervised, and coordinated. This office plays a key role in the architecture of Italy’s development cooperation strategy, as both countries are priorities for Italy within the complex and dynamic Middle Eastern region.
The initiatives of the AICS Beirut Office include a wide range of intervention sectors, embracing both the promotion of long-term structural development programs aimed at strengthening local capacities and fostering inclusive and sustainable growth, and the management of emergency initiatives designed to respond to urgent humanitarian needs arising from the prolonged regional crisis. In this delicate context, the Office is committed to forming a dense network of synergistic collaborations with multiple actors. This includes ongoing dialogue and close cooperation with local government authorities to ensure alignment of interventions with national priorities and to promote their sustainability. In addition, Civil society organizations play a similarly vital role in reaching vulnerable communities and promoting bottom-up participatory development processes.
The Office’s sustained commitment translates into targeted and coordinated action aimed at addressing immediate challenges and initiating the foundation for lasting and inclusive development in the region.
