BEIRUT: Kuwait has pledged an additional $50 million for Syrian refugees in Lebanon, sources close to Prime Minister Tammam Salam said Monday.

 

The vow was made during meetings Sunday between Salam and Kuwaiti Emir Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah, along with other Kuwaiti officials, the sources told The Daily Star.

 

They dismissed a report by the local newspaper Al-Liwaa that says Kuwait has granted Lebanon $30 million for the Syrian refugees.

 

The sources also denied that Kuwait has pledged $200 million for the establishment of a new power plant in Lebanon to replace the older Zouk and Jiyyeh electric utility generating stations.

 

Salam, speaking at a news conference in Kuwait after holding talks with the Kuwaiti Emir, Prime Minister Sheikh Jaber al-Mubarak al-Sabah and Parliament Speaker Marzouk Ali Ghanem, said Cabinet would meet this week following a breakthrough in the governing mechanism.

 

In addition to bilateral relations, the talks had focused on addressing a number of issues, particularly the influx of more than a million Syrian refugees into Lebanon.

 

Salam told reporters in Kuwait that the purpose of his visit was to “thank our Kuwaiti brothers for their moral and financial support for Lebanon.”

 

He had also said he would brief Kuwaiti officials about the situation in Lebanon, mainly regarding the Syrian refugee crisis. “ Lebanon has unconditionally welcomed refugees from Syria,” he said. “But today there is a need to support the Lebanese and the Syrians to bear this burden.”