BEIRUT — Energy Minister Walid Fayyad discussed Lebanon’s accession to the International Solar Alliance, an alliance of more than 120 nations initiated by India, with India’s Ambassador to Lebanon Suhail Ajaz Khan on Tuesday. Fayyad also met with Poland’s ambassador to the country and talked about potential cooperation in the electricity and water sectors.
Here is what we know:
• Fayyad and Ajaz Khan discussed possible ways for their countries to cooperate in the energy sector, the state-run National News Agency reported.
• The two sides agreed to “establish a rapid mechanism for financing some projects in the fields of energy and water through Indian programs, especially the financial credit line program that India uses in a number of developing countries,” the NNA cited a statement from the Energy Ministry as saying.
• Fayyad also met with Poland's Ambassador to Lebanon Przemyslaw Niesiolowski and discussed the potential avenues of cooperation in the electricity and water sectors.
• The meeting with Nesiewski also touched on the issue of rehabilitating the Electricité du Liban headquarters building in Beirut, installing in the process technology to produce electricity from renewable energies, the statement cited by the NNA continues. The headquarters were badly damaged in the Aug. 4, 2020 Beirut port explosion.
• Electricité du Liban, Lebanon's state power provider, has for months failed to supply residents with more than a handful of hours of electricity per day.