Beirut says it is nearing a deal with Damascus under which Lebanon, long-riddled with energy issues, would import electricity from Syria.
Joe Saddi, Lebanon's Minister of Energy and Water, said he “is working with Damascus to import electricity from Syria and the contract is almost ready”. A ministry source said the volume imported has yet to be finalised.
While Lebanon and Syria last week established a committee to expand political, economic and security co-operation, Lebanese officials are keen to stress talks aimed at strengthening the energy sector are well under way.
If the deal is agreed, it would be another development in the new era of Syria-Lebanon relations, which comes after the visit of Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad Al Shibani to Lebanon last week.
Syria had a strong influence over Lebanese affairs for decades, with Assad regime forces occupying the country from 1976 to 2005. Syrian rebels – Mr Al Shibani among them – ended decades of Assad rule in December 2024.
Lebanese and Syrian officials have been keen to open a new page in relations as a result. Top Syrian officials have sought to reassure Lebanon that Damascus has no desire to intervene against Hezbollah in Lebanon, an idea floated by US President Donald Trump.
Mr Saddi also highlighted a push involving Syria and Jordan to resume the Arab Gas Pipeline initiative, and said conversations between Lebanon and the two countries have been under way for months.
Egypt and Lebanon signed a contract in May to restart the project, which would see Beirut import gas from Egypt to Lebanon via Jordan and Syria, in a project that stalled in 2011 after the outbreak of the Syrian civil war.
Lebanon’s dilapidated energy infrastructure, heavily damaged in its 1975 to 1990 civil war, has limped on for decades, unable to supply the demand for electricity – instead offering only a few hours a day.
Some electricity infrastructure, particularly in southern Lebanon, has been attacked by Israel during the current war.
Private generators are available to those who can afford them but these, too, are at the mercy of shocks such as the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, which led to soaring energy prices in Lebanon and elsewhere.
While the blockade affected the whole world, countries such as Lebanon, already affected by dire economic conditions – as well as the Israel-Hezbollah war – are hit disproportionately.
“Throughout the war, and despite the Strait of Hormuz crisis and its impact on the global fuel situation, Lebanon did not witness any fuel shortages,” Mr Saddi said. “No queues were recorded at gas stations and no black market emerged.”
He added that this “would be the first time in years that Lebanon has gone through wartime conditions without witnessing such phenomena”.
