UPDATE 1-Qatar to invest $500 mln in Lebanese bonds

Qatar will invest $500 million in Lebanese government U.S. dollar bonds to support Lebanon's economy, the Qatari Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Monday.

Lebanon has the world's third highest public debt compared to GDP and stagnant growth. Comments from its finance minister ten days ago about Lebanon's public debt triggered concerns the debt might be restructured, leading to a sell-off in the country's dollar-denominated sovereign bonds. The decision to invest came after Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani made a brief visit to an Arab economic summit in the Lebanese capital Beirut on Sunday, during which he met Lebanese President Michel Aoun.

"We wish stability and prosperity for the Lebanese republic and the Lebanese people, and that the Lebanese economy will recover. The region needs a strong and prosperous Lebanon," Qatari Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani said in the statement. (Reporting by Eric Knecht; Writing by Lisa Barrington; Editing by Raissa Kasolowsky and Mark Potter)