Qatar’s prime minister said on Tuesday that his country would support Lebanese institutions and work on mutual projects after the formation of a Lebanese government.
Qatar has been providing the Lebanese army with grants for fuel and salaries. Lebanon needs foreign funds to help meet a huge reconstruction bill from last year’s war between Israel and Hezbollah, in which Israeli air strikes flattened swathes of the country.
In a press conference in Beirut following a meeting with Lebanese President Joseph Aoun, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani said Qatar would continue supporting the Lebanese army.
“We are looking forward to the formation of the government and after that will look at a strategic partnership based on mutual interest,” Al Thani said.
“The indicators since the beginning of the year have been positive, whether it is filling the (Lebanese) presidential vacuum or the change that happened in Syria.”
As well as meeting Aoun, who was elected president in early January, Al Thani met caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati, Prime Minister-elect Nawaf Salam and parliament speaker Nabih Berri.
Salam, a judge who had been serving as the head of the International Court of Justice, was nominated on Jan. 13 to form Lebanon’s new cabinet.
US Pressure
The US has pressured Lebanese officials including Salam not to allow Hezbollah or its ally Amal – headed by Berri – to nominate Lebanon’s next finance minister.
Hezbollah began trading fire with Israel after the Palestinian terror group Hamas attacked communities in southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, and triggered the Gaza war.
Israel said its offensive against Hezbollah aimed to secure the return home of tens of thousands of Israelis who were forced to leave homes at the border by Hezbollah rocket fire. Hezbollah and Israel reached a ceasefire in November.
TotalEnergies
Lebanon President Joseph Aoun on Tuesday told Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani that he hopes TotalEnergies will soon resume oil and gas exploration off the coast of Lebanon, according to a statement from the president’s office.
In 2023 QatarEnergy joined France’s TotalEnergies and Italy’s Eni in a three-way consortium to look for oil and gas in two maritime blocks off the coast of Lebanon.