Lebanon, Jordan sign agreement to transmit electricity through Syria

Lebanon and Jordan have signed an agreement to transmit electricity through Syria, in renewed efforts to ease severe power shortages in Lebanon.

In a joint press conference with his Jordanian and Syrian counterparts, Lebanese Energy Minister, Walid Fayad, stated that the deal will secure “250 megawatts of electricity to Lebanon, in cooperation with Jordan and with support of Syria”. He expressed his aim to “secure funds from the World Bank” in order to make the transit agreement more viable.

The Jordanian Energy Minister, Saleh Al-Kharabsheh, said the deal is especially important as it comes at a time when Lebanon critically needs it, while Syrian Energy Minister, Ghassan Al-Zamel, announced that his government has completed “all arrangements for electric linkage from Jordan to Lebanon”.  Al-Zamel added that “Syria will provide all facilitations to accomplish the agreement”.

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Since the Beirut blast in 2020 and the Lebanese leadership’s repeated political failures, Lebanon has suffered from the lack of a viable government, a plummeting currency and a serious shortage in fuel and electricity over the past year. As a result, power cuts have been a constant issue throughout the country.

This deal signed today seals the efforts made since October last year, when the three countries finalised the agreement to transmit electricity from Jordan to Lebanon, via Syria.

Ironically, the Energy Ministry in Beirut – where the signing took place – suffered from a power cut at the time of the signing, delaying the agreement for a short period.

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