A cabinet session on Tuesday addressed several recent events including Lebanon’s participation in the Arab Summit held in Bahrain, the Brussels conference, and the ongoing tensions in the south of the country.
Regarding the Arab Summit, which was held on May 16, Prime Minister Najib Mikati explained that it expressed everyone’s interest in Lebanon, highlighting that “the ‘Bahrain Declaration’ emphasized the Lebanese constants that we adhere to, and in the bilateral meetings we held, we sensed the keenness for Lebanon and the support it benefits from.”
Mikati also remarked on Lebanon’s participation in the ‘Eighth Conference to Support the Future of Syria and the Region’ in Brussels on May 27. “For the first time, Lebanon presented a clear and specific action plan to organize the Syrian refugee presence in Lebanon, which was adopted by the government and supported by the parliament through its recommendations.”
The caretaker Prime Minister also emphasized “Lebanon’s request to start the early recovery plan in Syria, separate the issue of displaced persons from political considerations, and find safe areas in Syria to initiate the return of the displaced,” assuring that the Caretaker Minister of Foreign Affairs, Abdallah Bou Habib, made “contact with Arab ministers whose countries host displaced Syrians, namely Jordan, Iraq, Egypt, and Syria, and they agreed on a unified plan consisting of contacting the Syrian authorities and supporting early recovery in Syria.”
Mikati also assured that the Caretaker Minister of Foreign Affairs reached an agreement with the UNHCR on all the points raised by Lebanon, most notably the handover of all data regarding the displaced Syrians.
Addressing the internal political situation, Mikati called for the inclusion of all political forces, stressing that “the solution begins with the election of the President of the Republic and the proper implementation of constitutional institutions rule.”
Finally, Mikati condemned the ongoing Israeli aggression in southern Lebanon.
