Qatari minister meets Lebanese leaders, announces major aid package for Lebanon
State Minister at the Qatari Foreign Ministry Mohammad al-Khulaifi held talks Monday in Lebanon with President Joseph Aoun, Speaker Nabih Berri and Deputy PM Tarek Mitri, after which he announced a major aid package for Lebanon.
“We announce an economic project to support the electricity sector worth $360 million,” Khulaifi said in a press conference at the Grand Serail.
The Qatari official also said his country will help with the return of Syrian refugees from Lebanon, starting with the return of 100,000 people at an initial cost of $20 million. Al-Khulaifi said the refugees who will return will be guaranteed suitable housing in addition to payments that cover their food and medicine for three months.
He added that the Syrian government, which has close relations with Qatar, will facilitate the return.
Lebanon's minister of social affairs, Haneen Sayed, said earlier this month that half a million Syrian refugees returned home in 2025.
Syria's conflict displaced half of the country's prewar population of 23 million over 14 years. Lebanon hosted an estimated 1.5 million refugees, who at one point made up roughly a quarter of its 6 million people, with many having been smuggled across the border and unregistered with the U.N.
Khulaifi also announced aid for Lebanon in the military, health, education, economic and social fields.
Noting that Qatari support for Lebanon is not bound by any restrictions, Khulaifi added that new initiatives will be announced.
“Dialogue with the American side is ongoing, and Lebanon is on the American-Qatari agenda,” he said.
“The time has come for Lebanon to recover,” he added.
“Lebanon's stability is a fundamental pillar for the stability of the region, and we call for prioritizing direct dialogue to fulfill the aspirations of the Lebanese people," Khulaifi said, as he stressed the need for all parties to “adhere to the ceasefire agreement,” condemning “the continued Israeli attacks on Lebanon and the violation of its sovereignty.”
Al-Akhbar newspaper reported Monday that al-Khulaifi would propose a Lebanese-Syrian dialogue conference to be held in Doha to resolve outstanding issues. He was also likely to discuss supplying Lebanon with gas for electricity generation, following an official Lebanese request for assistance in importing Qatari gas via Syria to increase electricity supply, in addition to discussing a clean energy project in Akkar and southern Lebanon, the daily said.
Lebanon has been improving relations with oil-rich gulf countries following years of tensions over the wide influence that Hezbollah had in the small nation. Hezbollah was weakened by a 14-month war with Israel, and the Iran-backed group recently called on Saudi Arabia to open a new era in relations.
For years, Qatar has been seen as a friendly country to Lebanon and a mediator for domestic and international political crises. Doha is also a key partner in the consortiums for Lebanon's offshore gas exploration blocks.
Lebanon since late 2019 has been in a historic fiscal crisis after decades of corruption and mismanagement by the country's ruling class.
Qatar had tried in the past to improve Lebanon's electricity sector, without success. This time, Lebanon's president who was elected last year and a newly named prime minister have vowed to fight corruption.
Lebanon's state electricity company is one of the country's biggest sources of debt, hemorrhaging about $40 billion over the past decades with a bloated workforce and outdated infrastructure. The company provides only a few hours of electricity each day, and the state until a year ago had taken advances from the Central Bank when diesel fuel runs out.
Most homes and businesses in Lebanon rely on highly expensive private generators that are a main cause of pollution in the Mediterranean nation.
Source: Naharnet, Associated Press
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