Iranian energy minister arrives in Beirut

Iranian Energy Minister Majid Namjoo arrived Thursday in Beirut for a visit to Lebanon for talks on the previously signed cooperation agreements between Lebanon and Iran. He was received by Iranian ambassador to Lebanon Ghazanfar Roknabadi and Cezar Abu Khalil, an adviser to Lebanon’s Energy Minister Gebran Bassil. Namjoo’s came to follow up on previously signed agreements in the energy sector between the two countries, Abu Khalil told The Daily Star. In October 2010, Lebanon and Iran signed 17 trade agreements in the economic, oil and energy fields, as visiting Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said at the time that Tehran is capable of solving the country’s chronic electricity problems. Bassil and Namjoo signed a deal to provide Lebanon with $450 million worth of letters of credit to allow the Lebanese government to finance some of these ambitious energy projects. Lebanon’s demand for electricity exceeds 2,800 megawatts, but even at full capacity, power plants cannot produce more than 1,500 MW.