BEIRUT (Dispatches) – Qatar has said it will provide the Lebanese armed forces with 70 tons of food a month in the face of Lebanon’s economic and political crisis.
Qatar’s donation was announced on Tuesday during a visit to Beirut by Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani.
“The support comes within the framework of the State of Qatar’s constant endeavors to help resolve the political crisis in Lebanon, and its firm commitment to support the Republic of Lebanon and stand by the brotherly Lebanese people,” Qatar’s state news agency QNA reported.
Sheikh Mohammed urged Lebanese parties to form a new government “to achieve stability”, QNA added. Lebanese politicians have spent months wrangling without agreeing on a new government that is needed to unlock international aid.
In turn, Lebanese President Michel Aoun said his country welcomed “Qatar’s ongoing support”, according to a statement released by his office.
Lebanon’s cabinet resigned after a massive explosion in Beirut’s port in August last year and has been acting in a caretaker capacity since then.
Also on Tuesday, caretaker Lebanese Prime Minister Hassan Diab appealed to the international community to help his country avert an imminent disaster, saying any instability in Lebanon would affect the stability of the whole region, National News Agency reported.
At a meeting with heads of diplomatic missions in Beirut, Diab said, “I call on the world to save Lebanon, and I appeal to brothers and friends to stand by the Lebanese people.”