Saudi Arabia announced on Tuesday $10 million in financial contributions to Lebanon through the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center (KSrelief) to implement dozens of projects in the small Mediterranean country, amid an improvement in Riyadh's ties with Beirut.
The Saudi ambassador in Lebanon, Waleed Bukhari, made the announcement from Beirut during the signing ceremony of a joint cooperation agreement between KSrelief and Lebanon’s High Relief Committee, a government agency in charge of supporting the needy across the country through foreign donations.
Speaking at the ceremony from the Grand Serail (the Government Palace), Bukhari said the $10 million grant will be used to implement 28 projects across Lebanon in various fields, the Lebanese state-run National News Agency (NNA) reported.
“This support reflects the commitment of the wise leadership of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, under the guidance of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, to humanitarian and relief work, ensuring stability and development in Lebanon, with the highest standards of transparency and accountability,” Bukhari said in a speech during the ceremony.
He said that since its establishment in 2015, KSrelief has carried out 129 humanitarian, relief and development projects in Lebanon in various sectors amounting to $2.7 billion.
“This support is a continuation of Saudi Arabia's solidarity with the Lebanese people, driven by the principles of genuine Arab brotherhood and the teachings of Islam,” he added.
Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati, who attended Tuesday’s ceremony, praised the cooperation agreement, which he said reflects the kingdom’s commitment to the stability of Lebanon.
In his speech at the ceremony, Mikati also lauded Saudi Arabia’s “strong fraternal” relationship with Lebanon and its support for the country and its people.
“The kingdom has always been by Lebanon’s side … and has been the safety valve that preserved the unity of the Lebanese people, regardless of their sect or political affiliation,” he said, according to a cabinet statement.
Saudi Arabia, along with several other Gulf countries, have long been traditional partners of Lebanon. Riyadh, in particular, provided billions in aid to Beirut following the signing in 1989 of the Taif Accord in Saudi Arabia, which ended the Lebanese civil war.
But Gulf support has waned in recent years amid the rising influence of the Iran-backed Hezbollah group in the country.
In February 2016, Saudi Arabia suspended a $3 billion aid package to supply the Lebanese army with French-made weapons. Authorities at the time said the reason behind the move was Lebanon’s failure to condemn the attack against the Saudi Embassy in Tehran over the execution of a prominent Shiite cleric by the Gulf kingdom.
In March of the same year, the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) formally designated Hezbollah as a terrorist organization.
Ties continued to deteriorate, and in October 2021, several Gulf countries, including Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, recalled their ambassadors to Beirut following critical comments made by a former Lebanese minister who was close to Hezbollah on the Yemen war and the Saudi-led coalition.
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