The visit of Qatar’s Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Mohammed bin Abdulaziz Al-Khulaifi, to Beirut today should not be seen as a routine part of the international efforts to support and stabilize the Lebanese state. Al-Khulaifi is a close aide to the country's Emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani, and a key player in Doha's regional mediation—particularly on the Palestinian-Israeli file. His visit carries significant implications, not only in terms of the financial support he will announce, but in affirming the American approach to Lebanon's stabilization. In particular, the U.S. has resisted linking financial support for the army to Hezbollah's disarmament, a perspective not shared by Riyadh, as Saudi insists on conditional support regarding arms.

Al-Khulaifi is unlikely to offer political support to Lebanese officials ahead of the Paris Conference in early March or the preparatory conference hosted by Doha in February. Instead, he will make an important announcement on a massive financial package covering various economic, social, educational, and healthcare sectors. The package has been quietly prepared in coordination between the Qatari side and the relevant Lebanese agencies and ministries.

Information available from informed Qatari sources indicates that this package will be one of the largest yet, demonstrating the Qatari commitment to helping Lebanon overcome its crises. The package will exceed half a billion dollars and will be announced at a joint press conference between Al-Khulaifi and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam after their talks. Notably, Doha insists that the support be delivered through institutions and within clear programs and projects that leave no room for deviation or ambiguity, especially since it recently faced obstacles in a solar energy production project when the Ministry of Energy failed to allocate land for the project.

According to information obtained by Annahar, the support will be announced today through the Qatar Fund for Development and will include support in the fuel sector, with the first contract between Lebanon and Qatar for oil and gas supply set to be signed imminently and more in the electricity file to follow.

Ninety percent of the support will be packaged as donations, with the exception of the aforementioned fuel contracts. The support will be allocated to several areas: education, through school and university scholarships, part of which will go to the American University of Beirut; healthcare, by equipping hospitals in various regions; and repatriation, helping aid the return of 400,000 Syrian refugees in coordination with the UNHCR. This effort is based on a study prepared last year and funded by Doha with $20 million to facilitate the return of Syrian families.

Another important file is support for the army, where Doha will launch an aid package for Beirut to deliver 162 military vehicles in three installments, with the first installment of 37 vehicles to be announced at a celebration on Friday. Doha will continue its commitment to the remaining installments, which are allocated for soldiers' salaries and fuel provision. The military support will cover the army and internal security forces and subsidize training sessions for both.

The Qatari initiative comes in clear coordination with Washington, as the latter seeks to encourage Gulf countries within the Saudi Arabia–UAE–Kuwait triangle to propose a joint Gulf action roadmap for support in the coming phase.

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed by the writers are their own and do not necessarily represent the views of Annahar.