{"id":3672,"date":"2023-02-04T19:12:01","date_gmt":"2023-02-04T19:12:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/londonpost.news\/?p=3672"},"modified":"2023-03-23T18:41:09","modified_gmt":"2023-03-23T18:41:09","slug":"qatar-enhances-its-influence-in-lebanon-amid-multiple-crises","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/politics\/qatar-enhances-its-influence-in-lebanon-amid-multiple-crises\/2023\/02\/04\/admin1\/","title":{"rendered":"Qatar enhances its influence in Lebanon amid multiple crises"},"content":{"rendered":"

BEIRUT<\/span> (Reuters)<\/span> –<\/span> Most<\/span> wealthy<\/span> Gulf<\/span> Arab<\/span> states<\/span> have<\/span> followed<\/span> Saudi<\/span> Arabia’s<\/span> lead<\/span> in<\/span> recent<\/span> years,<\/span> ousting<\/span> crisis-hit<\/span> Lebanon<\/span> over<\/span> the<\/span> growing<\/span> influence<\/span> of<\/span> the<\/span> Iran-backed<\/span> militant<\/span> group<\/span> Hezbollah.<\/span> Qatar<\/span> was<\/span> an<\/span> exception.<\/span><\/p>\n

Doha<\/span> is<\/span> quietly<\/span> expanding<\/span> its<\/span> influence<\/span> in<\/span> Lebanon.<\/span> It<\/span> continued<\/span> to<\/span> host<\/span> Lebanese<\/span> leaders<\/span> and<\/span> pumped<\/span> tens<\/span> of<\/span> millions<\/span> of<\/span> dollars<\/span> to<\/span> help<\/span> the<\/span> country’s<\/span> military<\/span> amid<\/span> its<\/span> historic<\/span> economic<\/span> collapse.<\/span>
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

The<\/span> small,<\/span> gas-rich<\/span> nation<\/span> began<\/span> to<\/span> see<\/span> the<\/span> fruits<\/span> of<\/span> its<\/span> investments<\/span> in<\/span> late<\/span> January<\/span> when<\/span> state-owned<\/span> Qatar<\/span> Energy<\/span> replaced<\/span> a<\/span> Russian<\/span> firm<\/span> in<\/span> an<\/span> international<\/span> consortium<\/span> to<\/span> explore<\/span> gas<\/span> in<\/span> the<\/span> Mediterranean<\/span> Sea<\/span> off<\/span> Lebanon.<\/span> rice<\/span> field.<\/span> And<\/span> on<\/span> Monday,<\/span> Qatar<\/span> will<\/span> meet<\/span> for<\/span> the<\/span> first<\/span> time<\/span> in<\/span> Paris<\/span> with<\/span> representatives<\/span> from<\/span> France,<\/span> Saudi<\/span> Arabia<\/span> and<\/span> the<\/span> United<\/span> States<\/span> to<\/span> discuss<\/span> Lebanon’s<\/span> political<\/span> and<\/span> economic<\/span> crisis.<\/span>
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

Qatar<\/span> paints<\/span> itself<\/span> as<\/span> a<\/span> more<\/span> neutral<\/span> force<\/span> in<\/span> a<\/span> country<\/span> where<\/span> outside<\/span> powers<\/span> have<\/span> for<\/span> decades<\/span> used<\/span> Lebanon’s<\/span> sectarian<\/span> divisions<\/span> to<\/span> wage<\/span> a<\/span> proxy<\/span> struggle.Saudi<\/span> Arabia<\/span> has<\/span> long<\/span> been<\/span> Lebanese<\/span> Sunni<\/span> Islam.<\/span> has<\/span> sought<\/span> to<\/span> drive<\/span> Iranian<\/span> influence<\/span> out<\/span> through<\/span> the<\/span> Shiite<\/span> Hezbollah.<\/span> The<\/span> conflict<\/span> has<\/span> repeatedly<\/span> pushed<\/span> Lebanon<\/span> to<\/span> the<\/span> brink<\/span> of<\/span> armed<\/span> conflict.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Qatar,<\/span> which<\/span> has<\/span> good<\/span> relations<\/span> with<\/span> Iran,<\/span> has<\/span> tried<\/span> to<\/span> advance<\/span> negotiations<\/span> between<\/span> Tehran<\/span> and<\/span> the<\/span> Gulf<\/span> states.<\/span> Mohammad<\/span> Bazi,<\/span> professor<\/span> and<\/span> director<\/span> of<\/span> the<\/span> Hagop<\/span> Kevorkian<\/span> Center<\/span> for<\/span> Near<\/span> Eastern<\/span> Studies,<\/span> said<\/span> his<\/span> participation<\/span> in<\/span> the<\/span> forthcoming<\/span> talks<\/span> “is<\/span> a<\/span> signal<\/span> that<\/span> Iran<\/span> will<\/span> not<\/span> be<\/span> completely<\/span> left<\/span> out<\/span> of<\/span> the<\/span> meeting,<\/span> and<\/span> an<\/span> awareness<\/span> of<\/span> Tehran’s<\/span> impact<\/span> on<\/span> Lebanon.”<\/span> is,\u201d<\/span> he<\/span> said.<\/span> at<\/span> New<\/span> York<\/span> University.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>“As<\/span> Saudi<\/span> Arabia<\/span> and<\/span> other<\/span> Gulf<\/span> countries<\/span> are<\/span> reducing<\/span> their<\/span> involvement<\/span> in<\/span> Lebanon,<\/span> Qatar<\/span> is<\/span> trying<\/span> to<\/span> restore<\/span> its<\/span> domestic<\/span> intermediary<\/span> role,”<\/span> he<\/span> said.<\/span>
\n<\/span>Still,<\/span> Qatar<\/span> is<\/span> one<\/span> of<\/span> the<\/span> richest<\/span> countries<\/span> in<\/span> the<\/span> world,<\/span> rich<\/span> in<\/span> natural<\/span> gas,<\/span> and<\/span> so<\/span> far<\/span> there<\/span> are<\/span> “few<\/span> signs<\/span> that<\/span> it<\/span> is<\/span> ready<\/span> to<\/span> bail<\/span> out<\/span> Lebanon<\/span> alone,”<\/span> Bazzi<\/span> said.<\/span> .<\/span>
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

Since<\/span> late<\/span> 2019,<\/span> the<\/span> Lebanese<\/span> economy<\/span> has<\/span> collapsed<\/span> due<\/span> to<\/span> widespread<\/span> corruption<\/span> and<\/span> poor<\/span> management.<\/span> The<\/span> currency<\/span> has<\/span> lost<\/span> more<\/span> than<\/span> 90%<\/span> of<\/span> its<\/span> value,<\/span> leaving<\/span> most<\/span> of<\/span> the<\/span> population<\/span> impoverished.<\/span> International<\/span> donors,<\/span> including<\/span> Qatar,<\/span> are<\/span> calling<\/span> on<\/span> the<\/span> government<\/span> to<\/span> implement<\/span> reforms<\/span> to<\/span> unblock<\/span> about<\/span> $11<\/span> billion<\/span> in<\/span> loans<\/span> and<\/span> grants.<\/span> However,<\/span> Lebanese<\/span> politicians<\/span> have<\/span> resisted<\/span> because<\/span> the<\/span> reforms<\/span> would<\/span> weaken<\/span> their<\/span> power<\/span> in<\/span> the<\/span> country.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Qatar’s<\/span> involvement<\/span> in<\/span> Lebanon<\/span> is<\/span> not<\/span> new.<\/span>
\n<\/span>After<\/span> her<\/span> 34-day<\/span> war<\/span> between<\/span> Israel<\/span> and<\/span> Hezbollah<\/span> in<\/span> 2006,<\/span> Qatar<\/span> helped<\/span> rebuild<\/span> several<\/span> badly<\/span> damaged<\/span> towns<\/span> and<\/span> villages<\/span> in<\/span> southern<\/span> Lebanon.<\/span> Huge<\/span> billboards<\/span> have<\/span> appeared<\/span> across<\/span> Lebanon<\/span> reading<\/span> “Thank<\/span> you,<\/span> Qatar.”<\/span> In<\/span> May<\/span> 2008,<\/span> after<\/span> Hezbollah<\/span> and<\/span> its<\/span> allies<\/span> battled<\/span> Western-backed<\/span> rivals<\/span> in<\/span> Beirut<\/span> in<\/span> what<\/span> was<\/span> the<\/span> worst<\/span> fighting<\/span> in<\/span> Beirut<\/span> since<\/span> the<\/span> 1975-1990<\/span> civil<\/span> war,<\/span> Lebanese<\/span> politicians<\/span> flew<\/span> to<\/span> Qatar,<\/span> where<\/span> they<\/span> said:<\/span> reached<\/span> an<\/span> agreement<\/span> known<\/span> as<\/span> the<\/span> Doha<\/span> Accords.<\/span> The<\/span> deal<\/span> ended<\/span> his<\/span> 18-month<\/span> stalemate,<\/span> a<\/span> new<\/span> president<\/span> was<\/span> elected,<\/span> and<\/span> a<\/span> new<\/span> government<\/span> was<\/span> formed.<\/span> In<\/span> the<\/span> lull<\/span> that<\/span> followed,<\/span> large<\/span> foreign<\/span> investment<\/span> poured<\/span> in,<\/span> and<\/span> Lebanon’s<\/span> economy<\/span> grew<\/span> an<\/span> average<\/span> of<\/span> 9%<\/span> in<\/span> his<\/span> three<\/span> years.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>In<\/span> December<\/span> 2018,<\/span> then-President<\/span> Michel<\/span> Aoun<\/span> opened<\/span> the<\/span> newly<\/span> renovated<\/span> National<\/span> Library<\/span> of<\/span> Lebanon<\/span> in<\/span> Beirut<\/span> with<\/span> his<\/span> $25<\/span> million<\/span> funding<\/span> from<\/span> Qatar.<\/span> The<\/span> mother<\/span> of<\/span> the<\/span> current<\/span> emir,<\/span> Sheikh<\/span> Moza<\/span> bint<\/span> Nasser<\/span> Armisned,<\/span> laid<\/span> the<\/span> cornerstone<\/span> for<\/span> this<\/span> project<\/span> in<\/span> the<\/span> heart<\/span> of<\/span> Beirut<\/span> in<\/span> 2009.<\/span>
\n<\/span>Saudi<\/span> Arabia<\/span> recently<\/span> withdrew<\/span> from<\/span> Lebanon<\/span> as<\/span> Hezbollah<\/span> gained<\/span> power.<\/span> For<\/span> the<\/span> past<\/span> year,<\/span> former<\/span> Prime<\/span> Minister<\/span> Saad<\/span> Hariri,<\/span> a<\/span> key<\/span> Saudi<\/span> ally<\/span> in<\/span> Lebanon,<\/span> has<\/span> looked<\/span> a<\/span> lot<\/span> like<\/span> him.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

BEIRUT (Reuters) – Most wealthy Gulf Arab states have followed Saudi Arabia’s lead in recent years, ousting crisis-hit Lebanon over the growing influence of the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah. Qatar was an exception. Doha is quietly expanding its influence in Lebanon. It continued to host Lebanese leaders and pumped tens of millions of dollars to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":3678,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":""},"categories":[280,2450,2459,2480],"tags":[645,933,972,154,174,275],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/QATAR.webp","amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3672"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3672"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3672\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3680,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3672\/revisions\/3680"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3678"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3672"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3672"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brusselsindependent.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3672"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}