Iraq to provide Lebanon with fuel for another year: Lebanon
Iraq has agreed to renew a one-year deal to provide Lebanon with fuel for its power plants in exchange for in-kind services, Lebanon’s Prime Minister said in a statement Thursday.
Iraq signed an agreement in July 2021 to give cash-strapped Lebanon one million tonnes of fuel oil to help keep the lights on as the country grapples with power cuts up to 23 hours a day during an unprecedented economic crisis.
“The Iraqi government, headed by Mr Mustafa al-Kadhemi, approved in a meeting today… to extend the supply of fuel to Lebanon… for a period of one year, under the same conditions as before,” Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati’s office said in a statement.
For the past year, Lebanon’s power plants have depended on the deal with Iraq to produce one to two hours of electricity per day.
Residents in the poverty-stricken country largely rely on expensive private generators for power the rest of the time.
