Lebanese Labor Minister, Mohammad Haidar, during a conference in Cairo in April 2025. (Credit: TV screenshot.)
BEIRUT — Labor Minister Mohammad Haidar met with Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammad Shia al-Sudani in Baghdad on Tuesday, who announced a series of support measures for Lebanon, which remains in crisis and is expected to finance the reconstruction of areas destroyed by Israel during the war between Israel and Hezbollah.
Sudani expressed his "immediate willingness to respond to all proposals" put on the table during previous talks between the leaders of the two countries and gave direct instructions to his government and relevant officials to begin implementing the agreed measures without delay. Neither official discussed the details of the measures.
According to the state-run National News Agency (NNA), which relayed the information, Haidar will hold a press conference upon his return to Beirut, during which he will announce the details of the agreements reached with the Iraqi side and the first measures already taken.
He also announced that he delivered a message from Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam to Sudani expressing "Lebanon's deep appreciation for Iraq's firm and supportive position, particularly in the face of the crises the country is currently experiencing."
The meeting between the Lebanese minister and the Iraqi prime minister covered several topics, including the reconstruction of Lebanon and Iraq's expected role in this process.
Last May, at the Arab League summit, Sudani announced that $20 million in aid would be granted to Lebanon for reconstruction, a sum that remains modest compared to the $11 billion needed, according to a study published last winter by the World Bank. The discussions also touched on Iraq's previous commitment to supplying wheat to Lebanon, confirming the continuation of this support. In May, Iraq announced that it would send 320,000 tons of wheat to Lebanon.
The two countries have been linked since the summer of 2021 by an agreement that allows Electricité du Liban to purchase fuel to meet part of its needs for its power plants and to defer payment following a barter mechanism involving SOMO (the public oil marketing agency) and third-party companies chosen by the Lebanese state.
The new extension of this agreement, signed on Feb. 12 by Joe Saddi and effective since March 1, provides for a quantity of between 1.5 and 2 million tons over one year, 500,000 tons more than the previous agreement.
The war has completely or partially destroyed villages in the south, the Bekaa and the southern suburbs of Beirut. The World Bank estimates the total cost of destruction caused by Israeli bombing in Lebanon at $11 billion. France pledged $88 million for reconstruction last week.
In early June, Lebanon secured a $250 million loan from the World Bank and, in partnership with United Nations agencies, launched projects worth more than $350 million for the south of the country.
