Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani stressed on Monday that Doha “stands by Lebanon, and is ready to assist it in all areas.”
Sheikh Tamim received on Monday Lebanese President Michel Aoun, who said the support provided by Qatar to Lebanon “is exemplary and confirms the brotherly and cooperative relations between the two countries.”
Aoun had arrived in Doha on Monday upon an official invitation from Qatar for the opening ceremony of an Arab football tournament.
The two officials reviewed means to strengthen bilateral relations and discussed regional and international developments.
The Qatar News Agency said Aoun briefed Sheikh Tamim on the latest developments in Lebanon, and “noted the depth of the old and solid Qatari-Lebanese relations, which have been growing and developing year after year.”
A statement issued by the Lebanese presidency said the Emir of Qatar underlined that his country “stands by Lebanon, and is ready to help it in all areas to overcome the difficult conditions it is experiencing.”
Sheikh Tamim spoke of the “difficult conditions the Lebanese people are enduring and their ability to rise again,” emphasizing that his country was ready “to contribute to investment in Lebanon after completing the appropriate laws.”
Qatari Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani will visit Beirut soon to review the means to provide the necessary assistance to Lebanon, the statement added.
Sehikh Tamim hoped the crisis between Lebanon and a number of Gulf countries will be resolved in the near future, “especially since Lebanon has always been on the side of all Arab and Gulf states.”
Aoun, in turn, welcomed any “investment made by Qatar to implement development projects in Lebanon in the fields of energy, electricity, banking, and others, where opportunities are many and varied.”
The statement said that the discussion between the two sides covered several topics, including the reconstruction of Beirut Port, the provision of electrical power and cooperation in the field of oil and gas.
Following a closed-door meeting, Aoun said he called on Sheikh Tamim “to direct Qatari businessmen to invest in Lebanon, where opportunities are available in all fields, especially in the energy sector.”
Later on Monday, Aoun said in an interview with Al-Jazeera television that he did not agree with Hezbollah on calls to dismiss the investigator in the Beirut port explosion case. He added that the party was “committed to UN Security Council Resolution 1701 and has not committed any violation since 2017.”
He also announced that he would leave the presidency at the end of his term, “but if parliament decides I should stay, then I will stay.”