PARIS: International donors pledged $11 billion in loans and grants Friday to help debt-ridden Lebanon at a conference in Paris that also sought to ensure the money is well spent in a country hit hard by the Syrian war next door.
French President Emmanuel Macron praised the international community’s “unprecedented mobilization” for Lebanon as crucial for building the conditions for a sustainable peace in the Middle East.
“At a time when the Levant probably lives one of the worst moments of its history ... it’s more important than ever to preserve the most precious asset: A peaceful, diverse and harmonious Lebanon,” Macron said.
In total, donors committed $10.2 billion in loans and $860 million in gifts, France’s ambassador to Lebanon Bruno Foucher said on Twitter.
Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri outlined his country’s grim situation, saying his nation’s stability is at stake.
“It is not the stability of Lebanon alone. This is the stability of the region and, therefore, of our world,” Hariri said, warning that a collapse in Lebanon could ricochet throughout the Middle East and Europe.
Fears of economic collapse in Lebanon are mounting ahead of next month’s parliamentary election, the first in nine years.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian announced that France would provide 400 million euros ($489.3 million) in loans below market rates and would gift Lebanon another 150 million euros ($183.5 million).
“In a Middle East shaken by crises, wounded by civil wars, Lebanon remains a model of pluralism, tolerance and openness which we need,” he said.
“But Lebanon is not an island. It’s borne the full force of regional tensions and the Syria crisis,” he said, adding that it was also grappling with the threat of terrorism.
The meeting was not a classic donors’ conference, but meant to seek an investment plan around infrastructure, water and energy, delineate structural reforms, and mobilize the private sector, French officials have said.
Hariri, pointing out the impact of seven years of war in Syria, said that growth in Lebanon has dived from 8 percent to barely 1 percent.
Syria’s war has hindered land exports to Jordan, Iraq and Gulf Arab countries. Lebanon is also hosting 1.2 million refugees — accounting for nearly a quarter of the country’s population.
Rampant corruption by the country’s political class has taken another kind of toll, hollowing out infrastructure and basic services, with frequent water and electricity cutoffs.
Last week, Lebanon’s Parliament approved a budget — its second since 2005 — with a fiscal deficit of $4.8 billion. The national debt at the end of 2017 stood at $80 billion, or more than 150 percent of gross domestic product.
France has deep ties with Lebanon, a former protectorate.
Another conference on April 25 in Brussels will aim to help Lebanon better cope with Syrian refugees.
Some 40 countries sent representatives to the meeting.
The World Bank said it would “mobilize more than $4 billion over the next five years,” its chief executive Kristalina Georgieva announced on Twitter.
“Lebanon cannot succeed alone,” Hariri appealed, adding: “It’s not just a matter of Lebanon’s security, it’s about the security of the region and the whole world.”
The EU rowed in with a promise of 150 million euros, the Netherlands offered 300 million euros and Italy pledged 120 million euros, France’s ambassador to Lebanon Bruno Foucher said.
France, which held mandate power over Lebanon for the first half of the 20th century, has been leading efforts to try stabilize the country.
The conference comes as Lebanon gears up for its first general elections in almost a decade in May with economic dark clouds gathering.
The government projects a deficit of $4.8 billion for 2018 — more than double the deficit in 2011, when Syria’s war started.
Economists say the state urgently needs to reduce its spending to avert a serious crisis. But public services such as water supplies, electricity and waste management have suffered huge underinvestment, compounding problems that date back decades.
Paris conference raises over $11bn in pledges for Lebanon
Paris conference raises over $11bn in pledges for Lebanon
- Growth in Lebanon has dived from 8 percent to barely 1 percent.
- Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri says his nation’s stability is at stake
Up to 25 oil tankers sailing to the Saudi port of Yanbu as number of ships in the region struck increases
RIYADH: A convoy of at least 25 supertankers is heading to the port of Yanbu on the Red Sea, as Saudi Arabia races to get its oil to market after the US-Israel war with Iran halted shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.
This fleet will provide the capacity to ship approximately 50 million barrels of oil from the port, according to ship-tracking data compiled by Bloomberg.
If these tankers successfully load their cargoes, it will be a significant step toward easing the unprecedented disruption to energy supplies from the Arabian Gulf, Asharq Bloomberg reported.
This comes as the widening war in Iran has effectively halted tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, sending oil prices into sharp swings and highlighting the strategic importance of the narrow waterway to global energy supplies.
The Strait of Hormuz is the narrow mouth of the Arabian Gulf through which about a fifth of the world’s oil passes. Any disruption to traffic through the passage is highly disruptive to the oil trade.
Disruptions caused oil to spike on March 9, only for it to swiftly fall back after US President Donald Trump suggested the war could be near an end.
“Container lines, oil tankers and LNG (liquefied natural gas) carriers are reducing operations in the Gulf. As a consequence, trade flows are redirected through ports on the Indian Ocean — e.g. Fujairah, Khorfakkan, Sohar — supported by land transport and rail connections. In Saudi Arabia, the land bridge railway is also being leveraged to enhance inland logistics resilience,” Paolo Carlomagno, partner at Arthur D. Little, told Arab News.
“On crude oil, existing pipelines, such as Saudi Arabia’s East-West pipeline and Abu Dhabi’s link to Fujairah, allow part of the exports to bypass the Strait. However, these solutions mainly cover crude, leaving refined products under continued pressure,” Carlomagno added.
The ADL partner went on to note that the situation is different for LNG, for which limited alternative export routes exist in the region.
“The highest impact in case of long-term closure of Hormuz, is to be expected on the Asian countries: India, China, Japan, South Korea, buying substantial volumes of oil from the Gulf,” Carlomagno added.
Vessels struck
Three vessels have been hit by unknown projectiles in the Strait of Hormuz, maritime security and risk firms said on Wednesday, bringing the number of ships struck in the region since the Iran conflict began to at least 14.
The Thai-flagged Mayuree Naree dry bulk vessel had been struck by "two projectiles of unknown origin" while sailing through the Strait on Wednesday, causing a fire and damaging the engine room, the ship's Thai-listed operator Precious Shipping PSL.BK said in a statement.
"Three crew members are reported missing and believed to be trapped in the engine room," Precious Shipping said.
"The company is working with the relevant authorities to rescue these three missing crew members," it said, adding that the remaining 20 crew members had been safely evacuated and were ashore in Oman.
Images provided by the Thai navy showed smoke pouring out of the back of the ship.
Earlier on Wednesday, the Japan-flagged container ship ONE Majesty sustained minor damage from an unknown projectile 25 nautical miles (46 km) northwest of Ras Al Khaimah in the UAE two maritime security firms said.
A third vessel, a bulk carrier, was also hit by an unknown projectile approximately 50 miles northwest of Dubai, maritime security firms said.
The projectile had damaged the hull of the Marshall Islands-flagged Star Gwyneth, maritime risk management company Vanguard said, adding that the vessel's crew were safe. Owner Star Bulk Carriers said the ship was hit in the hold area whilst anchored. There were no crew injuries and no listing.
Maersk bookings suspension
Maersk, one of the world’s biggest container shipping groups, has 10 ships stranded in the Gulf and would need at least a week to 10 days to return to normal operations if a ceasefire is reached, the company’s CEO Vincent Clerc told the Wall Street Journal on March 11.
The Danish company also announced with regard to reefers, dangerous goods, and out-of-gauge as well as in-gauge cargo types, the suspension of all bookings to and from the UAE, Oman, Iraq, and Kuwait, as well as Jordan, Qatar, Bahrain, and Saudi Arabia.
The suspension applies to cargo originating from, destined for, or transshipping through these countries.
“We are closely monitoring the evolving situation in the Middle East and would like to provide you with an update on what it means for your shipments and our services across the region,” Maresk said in a statement.
MSC emergency fuel surcharge
Shipping company MSC said that it would apply an emergency fuel surcharge to all cargo from Northern Europe and the Mediterranean to Australia and New Zealand from March 16, Reuters reported.
MSC said the surcharge would be $200 per per twenty-foot equivalent unit from Northern Europe and Mediterranean to Australia and New Zealand for dry containers, and $300 per TEU for refrigerated containers.
