Qatar gives 18.6 million euros to Lebanon to help pay its military personnel

2 Jul. (EUROPA PRESS) –

The Lebanese Army announced on Monday that it would provide around 20 million dollars (around 18.6 million euros) to Lebanon to help pay its armed forces personnel amid “current challenges,” referring to the severe economic crisis that the country is experiencing and which prevents the government from paying its civil servants the salaries they are entitled to, including military personnel.

“The Army Command has received a new Qatari financial grant worth $20 million presented by the Emir of the brotherly state of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al Thani, to the Lebanese Army, as part of the continued support to the military institution, in light of the current challenges,” the Army said in a statement, according to the Lebanese state agency, NNA.

This amount will be distributed “equitably” among Army personnel until the administrative procedures “are completed.”

Lebanese Economy Minister Amin Salam has thanked the Qatari authorities for their help in “difficult economic and social circumstances,” highlighting the difficult situation of state and public sector employees, according to a statement posted on his social network X account.

The announcement came shortly after a meeting between Lebanese Prime Minister Nayib Mikati and Qatar’s ambassador to the country, Saud bin Abdulrahman al Thani, in which they discussed bilateral relations and Doha’s support for Lebanese state institutions, especially the army, according to the Qatari state news agency QNA.

Lebanon has been mired in a deep and protracted political, economic and social crisis for several years, with more than 70 percent of the population living below the poverty line and a banking system paralyzed since October 2019. Added to this is the country’s political stalemate after more than a dozen votes have failed to elect a new president, a post that has been vacant since the end of Michel Aoun’s mandate on October 31, 2022.