Following gas deal with Egypt, Syria will facilitate Jordanian supply

Jordan, Syria and Lebanon reach electricity supply deal

photo_camera REUTERS/STEPHANIE McGEHEE - Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati

With energy reserves at rock bottom, Lebanon's situation is at a critical point that it will not be able to overcome unless it relies on external actors. Less than a fortnight ago, the state energy company warned of the high risk of a total blackout in the country, as the power plants "are totally depleted". In this context, Jordan's aid has come as a godsend to Lebanon. In a three-way agreement, Lebanon, Syria and Jordan have agreed that Jordan will supply energy to Lebanon through the Syrian territory, which continues its trend of strengthening ties with neighbouring countries.

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The electricity ministers of the three countries held a meeting in Amman to discuss a collaboration plan that would make it possible to deliver power to Lebanon as soon as possible. Hala Zawati, Jordan's energy minister, said after the meeting that "it was held to discuss the reactivation of the interconnection lines between Jordan, Syria and Lebanon to help the Lebanese brothers to meet part of their electricity needs". Lebanon is very grateful for the help of both countries and said that certain technical barriers that made negotiation difficult had been overcome.

The next step needed to materialise the deal is to find funds to get the go-ahead from the World Bank. In any case, the move has added risks as the existing 400 kV Jordan-Syria transmission line was established in 2001 and has been out of service since 2012 due to technical problems. On the other hand, the lines connecting Lebanon to Syria offer, although not many, some additional security through 400, 230 and 66 kV links.

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Jordanian and Syrian assistance is crucial for the Lebanese, who cannot find a way to cope with the energy crisis. However, their support does not come by chance. Last Sunday, Jordan's King Abdullah II held a telephone conversation with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad for the first time in ten years since the Syrian conflict began. According to the Syrian state news agency, during the call "bilateral relations and the strengthening of joint cooperation for the benefit of the two brotherly countries and peoples" were discussed.

This new contact between leaders was not the first step. In the past month, there has been constant movement between Damascus and Amman. In September, the Jordanian airline Royal Jordanian announced the resumption of direct flights between the two capitals. Following this move, the border between Syria and Jordan was reopened in full. Moreover, this cooperation has led the Jordanians to push for the return of Bashar al-Assad's country to the Arab League, which it left ten years ago with the outbreak of the Syrian civil war.

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Lebanon is working on other sources of supply to help increase its reserves. A fortnight ago, Prime Minister Najib Mikati travelled to Paris to meet with French President Emanuel Macron to try to reach some kind of agreement to facilitate energy supplies to Lebanon. France was one of the most interested parties in the formation of the new Lebanese government after the fall of the previous government in the wake of the Beirut explosion, although the French are in a complicated situation following a wave of Turkish criticism over their agreement to sell three frigates to Greece.

Egypt is another important player in the energy recovery process. The gas problems, which have spread across a large part of North Africa - we shall see if they reach Spain, as everything seems to suggest - following the breakdown of diplomatic relations between Morocco and Algeria, have reached Lebanon. To solve these problems, Egypt will facilitate supply through Jordan and Syria, although this will not take place until the end of the year, according to Egypt's energy minister, Tarek al-Mullah, who assured that they are still waiting for some "procedures" to be completed.
 

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