BEIRUT: German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier met with Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri in Beirut on Tuesday, where they discussed Berlin’s participation in upcoming international conferences aimed at shoring up Lebanon’s security forces and boosting its economy.
The prime minister’s office said Steinmeier also met with Christian and Muslim spiritual leaders in Lebanon on the second day of his visit to the tiny Mediterranean country, which has been struggling with the fallout from the civil war in neighboring Syria.
Lebanon, which hosts around a million Syrian refugees, is gearing up for three international conferences to be held in the coming months to bolster its economy and support its army and security forces.
Steinmeier, who arrived in Lebanon Monday from neighboring Jordan, also met Tuesday with German troops who serve as part of a United Nations force. The meeting was held on board a German vessel at the port of Beirut, where he was met by the commander of the German troops in Lebanon.
Germany has 126 soldiers contributing to the UNIFIL mission in Lebanon, including the Maritime Task Force, deployed since October 2006, which supports the Lebanese navy in securing the country’s maritime borders.
German president discusses support for Lebanon during visit
German president discusses support for Lebanon during visit
Morocco’s energy ministry puts gas pipeline project on hold
- The country’s natural gas demand is expected to rise to 8 billion cubic meters in 2027 from around 1 bcm currently, according to ministry estimates
RABAT: Morocco’s energy ministry said on Monday it has paused a tender launched last month for a gas pipeline project, without giving details on the reasons for the suspension.
The tender sought bids to build a pipeline linking a future gas terminal at the Nador West Med port on the Mediterranean to an existing pipeline that allows Morocco to import LNG through Spanish terminals and supply two power plants.
It also covered a section that would connect the existing pipeline to industrial zones on the Atlantic in Mohammedia and Kenitra.
“Due to new parameters and assumptions related to this project... the ministry of energy transition and sustainable development is postponing the receipt of applications and the opening of bids received as of today,” the ministry said in a statement.
Morocco is looking to expand its use of natural gas to diversify away from coal as it also accelerates its renewable energy plan, which aims for renewables to account for 52 percent of installed capacity by 2030, up from 45 percent now.
The country’s natural gas demand is expected to rise to 8 billion cubic meters in 2027 from around 1 bcm currently, according to ministry estimates.
