Qatar Assures Saniora Continued Support to Lebanon
The Emir of Qatar Sheikh Hammad Ben Khalifa al- Thani affirmed his country”s continued support to Lebanon on all levels, particularly with previously projects that are of interest to both countries.
The Emir of Qatar received Lebanon”s Prime Minister Fouad Saniora on Monday in Doha. The one-hour meeting covered developments in Lebanon, the region and bilateral relations. Saniora held separate talks on the same issue with the Qatari prime minister earlier.
"This was a good opportunity for us to discuss a lot of issues that are of interest to both our countries, " Saniora said.
He was asked by reporters on whether Qatar will be supplying Lebanon with oil and gas, Saniora replied saying:" There are a number of issues, the infrastructure for one, and other projects that have good economic and social return, that Qatar could contribute to."
On Sunday Saniora attended the International Conference on Financing for Development in the Qatari capital.
In his address to the U.N.-sponsored summit in Doha, Saniora said: "In Lebanon, through truly correct economic policies that were designed for confronting specific circumstances in our country, in addition to united efforts by the Central Bank and cabinet, we managed to protect our banking and financial systems from the crisis."
Saniora said Lebanon is making efforts to move forward with its reform schedule.
"We are also discussing means for launching a partnership between private and public sectors, to implement a continued and balanced development strategy regionally and locally. This will work on stimulating demand and supply in Lebanon," he said.