Qatar to invest $500M into Lebanese economy

Jan. 22 (UPI) -- Qatar will invest $500 million into Lebanon to support the struggling country's economy.

The decision to invest follows Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Than's visit to the Lebanese capital of Beirut for the Arab Economic and Social Development Summit where he had a meeting with Lebanese President Michel Aoun, the Qatar Ministry of Foreign Affairs reported in a media release.

The oil-rich Middle Eastern nation said it would make the investment through the purchase of Lebanese government bonds due to "the profound fraternal ties between the two brotherly countries."

"We wish stability and prosperity for the Lebanese Republic and the Lebanese people, and that the Lebanese economy will recover," Foreign Minister Mohammed Bin Abdulrahman Al Thani said in a statement to the Qatar News Agency, Middle East Monitor reported.

Lebanon is the world's third most-indebted country and fear arose recently following concerns it might have to restructure its debt, causing a sell-off of the country's sovereign bonds, Al Jazeera reported.