Lebanon announced on Tuesday that Prime Minister Najib Mikati will be visiting Turkey early next month. The visit will be Mikati’s first to Turkey since coming to office on September 10, 2021.
After meeting with Mikati in the capital Beirut to “select the delegation” for the visit, Lebanese Foreign Minister Abdallah Buhabib and Energy and Water Minister Walid Fayyad held a joint news conference.
Buhabib emphasized the critical concerns that will be discussed during the visit, adding, “We reviewed the intricacies of the problems that would be discussed with our Turkish friends, including tourism, energy, health, agriculture, and education.”
When questioned about the bilateral meeting’s highlights, Buhabib said, “Solar energy, investment in the oil industry, exports of Lebanese goods, and tourist collaboration between the two nations are all high on the agenda.”
Fayyad emphasized that the decision was made to begin negotiations with Turkey on mutually beneficial subjects such as energy and power supply.
Regarding Turkey’s potential energy investments in Lebanon, Fayyad said, “We will use Turkey’s expertise to focus on Turks’ investment potential in energy sectors such as solar and wind energy generation, as well as natural gas power generation.”
“Solar energy investment is modest, ranging between $50 million and $350 million. This is something that has the potential to pave the door for investment collaboration in Turkey’s energy industry,” he said.
