BEIRUT, Dec. 27 (Xinhua) -- Saroj Kumar, regional director for World Bank Middle East Department, said Thursday that the World Bank is ready to finance new economic and investment projects in Lebanon in 2019, local media reported.

"We are ready to finance projects in Lebanon in different sectors including electricity, telecommunications in addition to financing Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) while focusing on supporting municipalities," he said.

Kumar's remarks came during his meeting with Caretaker Finance Minister Ali Hassan Khalil at the Finance Ministry.

Kumar emphasized the importance of forming a government which will enable the country to make the necessary reforms and qualify for the funds offered by the World Bank to finance projects in Lebanon.

One of the projects that was approved by the World Bank earlier this year is a 295-million-U.S. dollar package to overhaul Lebanon's decaying transport sector and secure employment for thousands of unskilled Lebanese and Syrian workers.