The President of the government received the Saudi Ambassador to Lebanon, Walid Bukhari, and discussed the bilateral relations between the two countries and the importance of working to distance Lebanon from the region's tensions. The ambassador handed President Mikati an invitation from the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques to attend the fifth Arab-African Summit, scheduled to take place on the 11th of next month in Riyadh.
On another note, Prime Minister Najib Mikati met with the Foreign Affairs Committee in the Parliament, attended by the Minister of Economy and Trade, Amin Salam. Deputy Fadi Alameh stated after the meeting, “Our meeting today with the President has an economic aspect related to the economic attachés, who were informed more than two months ago about their arbitrary dismissal at the end of the year. Economic attachés play a fundamental role in promoting exports and fostering a business environment on all levels.”
For his part, Deputy Fared Bustani said, “As an Economics Committee, we focus on the export movement by the economic attachés, who are ambassadors of our economy in countries around the world. The partnership between the public and private sectors was evident today through the presence of economic bodies.” He added, “The Ministry of Economy revealed in the meeting that there is an increase of around 17 percent in export activity as a result of the work of these attachés. This proves that this program is very good and should be continued, and the attachés should be evaluated scientifically.”
Minister Salam pointed out that the economic attachés are a group of young men and women that “the Lebanese state and the private sector invested in over three years of training and developing relationships with the outside world. The experience they gained is an added value to the economy, industry, agriculture, and Lebanon. We agreed in today's meeting to re-evaluate them scientifically based on numbers.”
President Mikati also received a delegation from the "Sovereignty Front for Lebanon." Deputy Hawat confirmed after the meeting the “absolute support for the Palestinian cause and the necessity of distancing Lebanon from the fires and removing it from the battlefield conflicts. Certainly, the Palestinian cause is just, but to protect Lebanon and the Lebanese, the government and legitimate state institutions have a fundamental role.”
The discussion, according to Hawat, also addressed the issue of Syrian displacement, noting in this context that the government should inform the UN High Commissioner for Refugees not to fund the refugee issue in Lebanon, “and if they want to provide funding, let it be in Syria, as the status of refugees has ceased for those displaced in Lebanon due to the cessation of the war in Syria.”
For his part, Deputy Camille Chamoun said, “We made this visit to the President to affirm our solidarity with all the positions he has taken in the interest of Lebanon. The neutral position he adopts is the desired stance in a crisis like this. The issue of war and peace should be a purely Lebanese matter, and no one should monopolize that decision.”
