'Not a Penny' of Saudi Aid Will Pass through Lebanese State

The French and Saudi officials who met in Paris on Tuesday discussed “the coordination of the executive steps that have been agreed to assist Lebanon, especially through the joint fund that has been set up for this purpose,” sources who accompanied the Saudi visit to Paris said.

“Not a single penny of the Saudi aid parcel for the Lebanese will pass through the official Lebanese institutions,” the sources told Nidaa al-Watan newspaper in remarks published Wednesday.

The French-Saudi agreement to fund humanitarian projects in Lebanon had first been announced during a February 28 Paris meeting between foreign ministers Jean-Yves Le Drian and Prince Faisal bin Farhan.

A statement issued that day had said that the assistance will be offered to several hospitals and primary care health centers as well as educational institutions and NGOs that distribute infant milk and food to the most vulnerable segments of the population.