Qatar PM and Lebanese PM Nawaf Salam pledge support, solar plant project

Qatar's Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim al-Thani and Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam held talks in Beirut on Friday on strengthening ties and expanding co-operation in energy and other sectors. Sheikh Mohammed announced that QatarEnergy has reached an agreement with TotalEnergies to jointly develop a solar power plant in Lebanon.

Gulf Times reported on the joint press conference, while The National and Boston 25 News covered the electricity plans and the Qatari pledges of support.

What we know

• Gulf Times reported that Sheikh Mohammed described the QatarEnergy and TotalEnergies solar plant as an initial step within a broader energy co-operation framework that both sides have agreed to develop.
• The National reported that Salam said: "Qatar will finance, implement and operate the electricity project, without the Lebanese Treasury bearing any prior investment cost."
• Gulf Times reported that Salam said the two governments are close to a joint project to rehabilitate, develop and modernise Lebanon's electricity generation infrastructure under a build-operate-transfer (BOT) model.
• Boston 25 News reported that Salam said he will put the plans for Lebanon's electricity sector to the Lebanese Cabinet soon.
• Gulf Times reported that Sheikh Mohammed said Qatar has been, and will remain, a supporter of the Lebanese Armed Forces, and that he discussed prospects for support with President Joseph Aoun and Army Commander General Rodolphe Haykal.
• Boston 25 News reported that Sheikh Mohammed said Qatar is working in coordination with the United States to help lay the groundwork for future reconstruction in southern Lebanon, in a manner that would allow displaced people to return to their homes.

What we don't know yet

• The National quoted a Lebanese official as saying Qatar and Lebanon were in the "final stages" of finalising an agreement on the electricity project, and none of the three reports says when it will be signed.
• The reports do not say whether the Lebanese Cabinet has approved the plans Salam said he would present to it.
• Gulf Times, The National and Boston 25 News do not give the size, cost or timetable of the solar plant, and none states how it relates to the wider electricity project Salam described.
• Boston 25 News did not report how or when the reconstruction groundwork in southern Lebanon would begin.