2024-02-18T11:52:01+00:00
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/ A Lebanese official said on Sunday that Iraq is continuing to supply Lebanon with crude oil, despite Beirut not paying Baghdad’s dues, which amount to more than one billion dollars.
The official explained in statements reported by Lebanese media, “The value of oil since the beginning of cooperation in September 2021 until today is about $1.7 billion, while Lebanon has not paid any dollar of this amount.”
He added, “Iraq still considers that Lebanon is in a grace period because it is aware of the existing administrative complexities, noting that “the Lebanese government approved the establishment of the platform, but to this day it has not started its work, for several reasons, most notably the lack of organization of collection for the benefit of the Electricité du Liban, which is still very late, and that the general budget did not include appropriations for Iraqi oil.”
The Lebanese official pointed out that “Lebanon is fully committed to launching this platform and paying the due funds, but the delay is administrative and bureaucratic, so Iraq’s position is positive and goes beyond local complications, and it stands by Lebanon in these difficult circumstances, as the monthly quantity of oil allocated to Lebanon is estimated at about 120 thousand tons.”
Regarding the services that Lebanon can provide to Iraq, the official said, “A delegation from the Investment Promotion Agency of Lebanon (IDAL) visited Baghdad in recent days where it met with representatives of the Iraqi government. The foundations and objectives for exchanging goods desired by the Iraqi side were set, especially at the level of software, training, industry, agriculture, printing and advertising… in addition to Iraq’s need for banking experts and employees to develop the banking sector.”
On another level, the official pointed out that “cooperation with Iraq does not stop at oil, but there is cooperation at the security level, which is very effective, which has facilitated the work of the security services in the field of combating drugs in the first place and other crimes, and has also strengthened cooperation and coordination with the Arab countries, especially the Gulf countries.”
The Lebanese official warned against “exploiting Iraqi tourists who come to Lebanon, whether for medical treatment or for recreation,” noting that they “occupy the first place among arrivals, knowing that the Iraqi state supports travel to Beirut.”