BEIRUT, Oct. 17 -- Lebanon's state utility delivers only a few hours of power a day, and on Friday Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said Qatar would pay to change that. Qatar "will finance, implement and operate the electricity project," Salam said at a joint news conference with Qatar's prime minister, "without the Lebanese Treasury bearing any prior investment cost."

Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, Qatar's prime minister and foreign minister, said QatarEnergy had agreed with France's TotalEnergies to develop a solar plant in Lebanon as an initial project. He is giving from a thinner purse, since Qatar's revenue fell 42 percent in the first half of 2026, its Emir told the Shura Council this week, although he said no essential servic...