Lebanon’s Finance Minister: Iraqi fuel payment ready for transfer

Shafaq News – Beirut/Baghdad

Lebanese Finance Minister Yassine Jaber announced, on Friday, that funds owed to Iraq for fuel exports are ready for transfer.

In a statement after meeting with Iraq’s Chargé d’Affaires in Beirut, Mohammad Redha al-Husseini, Jaber confirmed that the payment is pending action from Iraq’s Central Bank to activate the designated financial channel. He noted that the move would simplify transactions and improve access for Iraqi citizens and businesses.

The fuel-for-services agreement, signed in July 2021, allowed Lebanon to import heavy fuel oil from Iraq to power its electricity plants in exchange for Lebanese goods and services. The deal was expanded in late 2023, doubling Lebanon’s annual fuel quota to two million tons—though Beirut has yet to fully meet its service obligations.

Jaber also revealed that a delayed Lebanese ministerial visit to Baghdad is being rescheduled to boost economic ties and advance key infrastructure projects, with the agenda including finalizing a double taxation agreement, restarting the stalled Iraq–Tripoli oil pipeline, expanding fiber-optic infrastructure, modernizing payment systems, and facilitating cross-border movement.