NNA - President of the Republic, General Michel Aoun, met Syrian Energy Minister, Eng. Ghassan Al-Zamel, shortly after his arrival in Lebanon, on the eve of signing the contract to supply electric power from Jordan through Syria.
Minister Al-Zamel was accompanied by Lebanese Energy Minister, Walid Fayyad, and the Syrian Ambassador to Lebanon, Ali Abdel Karim Ali.
During the meeting, Minister Al-Zamel conveyed to President Aoun the greetings of Syrian President, Dr. Bashar Al-Assad, and his directives "To provide all assistance and facilities for the implementation of this project”.
For his part, President Aoun thanked Minister Zamelfor Syrian accomplishments to facilitate the signing of the contract, praising the existing Arab cooperation to support Lebanon by its brothers, especially in this difficult circumstance which Lebanon faces.
Statement of Ministers Fayyad and Zamel:
After the meeting, Minister Fayyad made the following statement:
“We held a meeting this afternoon with His Excellency the President, which came within the framework of the visit of the Syrian Energy Minister, Ghassan Al-Zamel, in the presence of the Syrian Ambassador to Lebanon Ali Abdel Karim Ali.
It is expected that tomorrow we will sign an energy supply contract from Jordan. To this end, we will receive the Jordanian Energy Minister, Saleh al-Kharabashi, shortly.
We will also sign an energy transit agreement from Jordan to Lebanon through Syria, in cooperation with the Arab brothers.
I welcome Minister Zamil to Lebanon. We have briefed His Excellency the President on this strategic cooperation taking place, which is a very important step in rebuilding the historical partnerships between the two countries and with the Arab brothers in general, from Egypt, Jordan and Iraq who all stand by Lebanon's side.
We hope that this cooperation will be constructive for the benefit of all the Arab brothers, and at the same time, the vital importance of this file lies in the ability, during the short period, within two months or less, to secure additional electricity to the Electricity of Lebanon network at a cheaper cost and less pollution than the electricity provided by private generators, so we will obtain 2 additional hours of feeding or 200 megawatts.
Then Minister Al-Zamil said:
"We had a short meeting with the President of the Republic and conveyed to him the greetings of President Bashar Al-Assad. The President's directives require providing all assistance and all facilities to implement this project. We in Syria do not need lights from anyone or anyone. We have done our best since the first meeting, where we said that at the end of the year the connection line will be ready. On the 29th of last month, we informed the Jordanian and Lebanese sides about the readiness of the line. And the Syrian government's directives require providing all facilities to complete this agreement. And we are now ready to sign, and we have come to witness the signing by the Lebanese and Jordanian parties”.
Questions & Answers:
In response to a question about the implications of this visit to Beirut after a boycott of nearly 11 years, Minister Al-Zamel replied: "It is a visit to our brothers in Lebanon, and we previously considered ourselves one people in two brotherly countries.
It is a visit that I cannot say is the beginning of Arab-Arab cooperation, because this cooperation is supported by President Bashar al-Assad and by the government to facilitate and reactivate Arab cooperation in general”.
In response to another question, Minister Fayyad explained that “The issue of gas was addressed by the World Bank faster than it was addressed regarding electricity, and the World Bank has allocated $300 million for the gas program, while what the World Bank is looking for today is to add financing for electricity rushing from Jordan to Lebanon through Syria”.
Whether there are positive signs from the World Bank in this direction, Minister Fayyad replied: "Yes, there are positive signs, and we will meet with officials in the World Bank in this regard, including the general manager of our region”. -- Presidency Press Office
----------------
