Iraq approves support package for Lebanon after Baghdad meeting
The message conveyed Lebanon's "deep appreciation for Iraq's steadfast and supportive stance, especially in light of the crises Lebanon is currently facing," the state-run National News Agency (NNA) reported Tuesday.
The meeting covered a range of issues foremost among them being the reconstruction of Lebanon and Iraq's anticipated role in this process.
In May, Sudani announced during the Arab League summit, that $20 million in aid will be granted to Lebanon for reconstruction.
Lebanon obtained a $250 million loan from the World Bank in early June and launched, in partnership with United Nations agencies, projects worth over $350 million for the country's south.
The war totally or partially destroyed villages in the South, the Bekaa, and southern suburbs of Beirut. The World Bank estimates the total bill for damage in areas hit by Israeli bombings in Lebanon at $11 billion. France, for its part, pledged last week to contribute $88 million for reconstruction.
Discussions also touched on Iraq's previous commitment to supply Lebanon with wheat, reaffirming continued support.
In May, Iraq said it would send 320,000 tons of wheat to Lebanon.
Sudani expressed "immediate responsiveness to all proposals and issued direct instructions to his ministerial team and relevant officials to begin implementing the agreed-upon steps without delay."
Haidar is expected to hold a press conference upon his return to Beirut, during which he will announce the details of the agreements reached with the Iraqi side and the initial steps already underway, according to NNA.
Iraq and Lebanon have an electricity agreement which was signed in the summer of 2021 and renewed since then, stipulated that Iraq, through SOMO, the state agency responsible for marketing oil, delivers a shipment of crude oil each month to a third-party company that would, in return, provide a corresponding quantity of fuel compatible with the power plants of Électricité du Liban (EDL).
The new extension, signed by Joe Saddi on Feb. 12 and effective from March 1, provided for a quantity between 1.5 and 2 million tons over one year, which is 500,000 tons more than in the previous contract.
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