Qatar Gives $50 Million to Lebanon, Plans to Help Rebuild Beirut

(Bloomberg) --

Qatar provided $50 million in aid to Lebanon and will unveil plans to help rebuild the devastated Beirut in the coming days.

“We will announce over the coming days our contribution to the rebuilding of Beirut,” Qatar’s ruler Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani said on Al Jazeera TV.

The Aug. 4 explosion at the Port of Beirut killed more than 150 people, injured 6,000 and destroyed large parts of the capital. It came at a time when Lebanon is reeling under its worst financial meltdown and political crisis in decades.

Before the blast, talks with the International Monetary Fund for a $10 billion loan had stalled over the government’s failure to agree on a reform plan, and Gulf states deflected Lebanon’s request for a bailout, afraid money would fall into the hands of Iran-backed Hezbollah militants.

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