The discussions touched upon Lebanon’s security and stability as well as the country’s presidential vacuum.

Qatar’s Minister of State at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mohammed Al-Khulaifi, has met with top Lebanese officials in Beirut, where he reaffirmed Doha’s support for the country.

The meetings took place on Monday, weeks after a ceasefire deal between Hezbollah and Israel came into effect on November 27. However, Israel has violated the truce at least 100 times since its implementation.

Al-Khulaifi separately met the Commander of the Lebanese Armed Forces General Joseph Aoun, Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives Nabih Berri.

In the meeting with Aoun, Al-Khulaifi “underscored the great importance of the role of the Lebanese Army” in enhancing and preserving Lebanon’s security and sovereignty, according to Qatar’s foreign ministry.

“General Aoun expressed thanks and appreciation to the State of Qatar for the continuous support it provides to Lebanon and the military institution to overcome the current circumstances,” the statement added.

Qatar is among the key supporters of Lebanon’s army over the years through various initiatives. 

On Sunday, the Lebanese army received the second shipment of fuel from the Qatar Fund for Development under a three-month $15m grant announced in September. 

The crucial support came at a time where Israel had intensified and expanded its bombardment of Lebanon from the south to the capital, Beirut. Since October 8, 2023, Israel has killed more than 4,000 people in the country.

Meanwhile, during the meeting with Mikati on Monday, Al-Khulaifi reiterated “Qatar’s firm stance” over Lebanon’s territorial integrity. 

In his meeting with Berri in Ain El-Tineh, the Qatari official discussed efforts to address Lebanon’s presidential vacancy, which has persisted since former President Michel Aoun left office in October 2022.

“The meeting discussed cooperation ties between the two countries and ways to bolster them, in addition to discussing efforts to address the presidential vacancy in Lebanon,” the Qatari foreign ministry said in a statement.

Qatar is a member of the Quintet Committee on Lebanon which includes Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United States, and France. The group had first convened in Paris last year and held a meeting in Doha on July 17, 2023.

The latest such meeting took place in Lebanon on December 11 at the level of ambassadors, where the discussions centred on the presidential election. The meeting came two weeks after Berri scheduled a parliament session to elect a president on January 9. 

“It will be fruitful, and we have given a one-month period to reach consensus among us,” Berri told a parliament session on November 28.

The failure to elect a president is due to a deep political divide that widened after the 1975 Civil War when various Lebanese sides engaged in a bloody war that lasted for 15 years.

Electing a new president is considered a critical step in addressing Lebanon’s severe economic crisis, the worst since the 1975 Civil War. The 2020 Beirut Port explosion, combined with the Covid-19 pandemic, has deepened the country’s economic collapse.

The Lebanese population has long pointed to the ruling elite as being behind the country’s current state and protests since 2019 have called for political reform in Lebanon.