Bassil Says Qataris 'Good' Investors, Invites Saudi Arabia to Follow Suit

Caretaker Foreign Minister Jebran Bassil said on Wednesday that Qataris are “good investors,” as he invited “Saudi arabia and other states” to follow Qatar’s steps and invest in Lebanese government bonds.

In an interview he made to CNN on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Bassil said: “The Qataris are good investors. They are in the process of buying Lebanese bonds and I invite Saudi Arabia and other states to do the same because it is safe with good return.”

On Moody’s downgrading of Lebanon, he said: “Lebanon got through worse,” adding “Riyadh and other countries are welcome to invest and help Lebanon stay sable.”

To a question that Saudi, EU and world leaders were ready to offer ten times what Qatar is offering to inject into the economy on condition that Lebanon form a government.

Bassil replied: “We should teach Washington and London maybe on how to run a country without a budget. Lebanon gets adapted to every difficult situation. I think we will be able to form a government to get out of this situation.”

“Our economy is not so bad. The Lebanese have great initiative and we can revive it. We are resourceful. We have skills and ability to do it,” said Bassil.

On the Israel-Lebanon border which leading experts have described as the “most dangerous frontier in 2019,” and whether the Israeli threats keep Bassil awake.

He said: “The silence accompanying the daily Israeli breaches of our independence and sovereignty is what keeps awake. More than 150 air and land breaches of the UN resolution 1701, in addition to violations against our maritime border.”

“I want to see peace and stability on our border. Resolution 1701 was made for that purpose. Israel does not care about resolutions like Lebanon does,” he concluded.