ARAB-AFFAIRS - Feb. 29 - Kuwait Sends Lebanon US$15m Emergency Aid.

Kuwait announces a US$15m aid package to Lebanon to help it reconstruct after Israeli military raids damaged some public services. 'KUNA' reports Kuwait Emir Shaikh Jabir Al Ahmad Al Sabah, acting on earlier promises to financially support reconstruction projects in the fellow Arab state, ordered the aid which will be managed by the Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development (KFAED). During a visit to Kuwait in May by Lebanese PM Hoss, KFAED announced a US$200m, 3-year pledge to finance development projects in Lebanon. (Hoss was once a senior official at the KFAED. Kuwait, like most Arab states, strongly condemned Israeli raids on Lebanon earlier in February. Kuwait at the time promised to help finance the reconstruction of some of the civilian targets damaged in the raids, including power stations.) 'KUNA' says KFAED has extended Lebanon some US$250m in soft loans since 1966 in addition to grants worth some US$8.5m and another US$29m managed by the Fund - the state's main arm for loans and financial assistance. (KFAED was originally created in Dec. 1961 to offer Arab states soft loans, grants for public works projects and technical assistance.)

Mar. 3 - Saudi Crown Prince Supports Hizbollah: Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah praises the Lebanese resistance to Israeli presence in southern Lebanon at the end of an official visit timed to underscore support against threats by the Jewish state. The heir to the Saudi throne says: "Lebanon will not be left to stand alone, oppressed", adding, "It is strong by the support of Allah and of brotherly Arab nations. Its resistance proves the ability of the Arabs to regain their rights and dignity". The statement comes as he ends a 24-hour visit in which he held the first meeting between a senior Saudi and Hizbollah, the movement leading the guerrilla war to drive Israeli forces from south Lebanon. (The late-night gathering between Abdullah and a Hizbollah delegation led by Shaikh Ibrahim Assayed, one of their members in the Lebanese parliament, demonstrates the gap between the views of Arab countries and recent US descriptions of the guerrillas as "enemies of peace".)

Assayed says: "We met his highness Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah to express our deep appreciation for the Saudi support of our resistance and for him personally for his own distinguished support". Abdullah also presents a grant of US$30m and a soft loan of US$100m to fund the recovery of Lebanon, which suffered a civil war and has been occupied by Israel since 1978. (Abdullah is the latest in a string of Arab visitors to show support for Lebanon in the wake of Israeli threats to attack civilian targets. The visit by the crown prince of Saudi Arabia, which is close to the US, comes despite Washington opposing support for Hizbollah. Washington has joined Israel in telling Syria to curb the guerrillas. There will be more praise for the guerrillas when Arab FM's meet in Beirut on Mar. 11 and 12 - a semi-annual gathering that has been shifted from Cairo to show support for Lebanon.)