A Lebanese delegation is set to visit Damascus on Saturday to discuss plans to import gas through Syrian territory in an effort to alleviate Lebanon’s energy crisis.
The meeting will mark the first high-level visit from Lebanese officials to Syria during the country’s 11-year-old conflict.
The delegation includes Finance Minister Ghazi Wazni, Energy Minister Raymond Ghajar, General Security agency chief Abbas Ibrahim and Zeina Akar, who holds the posts of defense minister, foreign minister and deputy premier, Syria’s information ministry said in an invite sent to journalists.
They will be greeted at the Syrian border by foreign minister Faisal Mekdad, the same source added.
The visit aims at reviving a 2009 agreement that allowed Lebanon to import gas from Egypt through Syrian territory.
Since the escalation of the Syrian conflict in 2011, Lebanon maintained diplomatic ties with the war-torn country but adopted a dissociation policy from the conflict.
The upcoming visit comes as part of Washington’s agreement last month to help Lebanon secure electricity and natural gas from Jordan and Egypt through Syria.
The agreement implies that the US is willing to waive sanctions prohibiting official transactions with the Syrian government that hampered Lebanon’s previous attempts at importing gas through Syria.
Lebanon has been grappling with the worst economic crisis of its history, as the majority of the population was propelled into poverty and the national currency lost most of its value.
The country’s central bank is struggling to afford basic imports, leading to fuel shortages and prolonged power cuts lasting as long as 22 hours a day.
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