According to General Security Chief, Major General Abbas Ibrahim, “Lebanon wants to negotiate fuel imports with Kuwait to help Beirut cope with an economic and financial crisis,” reported Reuters.
Recently, Lebanon’s President Michel Aoun assigned Gen. Ibrahim on an official mission to two Arab Gulf states to try and gain financial support for Lebanon.
During his visit to Kuwait this week, Gen. Ibrahim said that he discussed this matter with Kuwaiti officials as well as other ideas “that could help alleviate Lebanon’s crisis.”
“We want to purchase 100% of our requirements from Kuwait without going through agents or companies looking to make a profit … This is a purely commercial matter and I hope there will be no obstacles to it,” Reuters reported Ibrahim saying in Kuwaiti newspaper Al-Rai.
However, Lebanon is also attempting to receive fuel imports from Iraq.
Some weeks ago, Lebanon’s Prime Minister and the Iraqi Oil Minister agreed in a meeting that Iraq will import industrial and agricultural products from Lebanon.
In exchange, Iraq will export its surplus petroleum products, especially crude oil, to Lebanon.
With complicated relations, will the Arab Gulf help Lebanon? Last month, an Emirati official said that the country is paying the price for weakening its ties with the Gulf states.
According to Reuters, “Kuwait is seeking to bolster its own finances amid low oil prices and the coronavirus pandemic, and has been rapidly depleting its General Reserves Fund to plug a budget deficit.”