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The President of the Republic, General Michel Aoun, Under-Secretary-General of the League of Arab States, Ambassador Hussam Zaki, during his meeting with him this morning at the Baabda Palace, said that Lebanon is looking forward to a unified Arab position regarding to the economic and social difficulties that it suffers, after the series of events that occurred in recent years. Especially including the influx of displaced Syrians to Lebanon, whose number now exceeds one and a half million people.
President Aoun noted that direct and indirect material losses, especially the economic losses that Lebanon suffered as a result, from 2011 to last year, exceeded $ 54 billion, according to reports from the International Monetary Fund.
President Aoun emphasized the responsibility of the Arab countries to help Lebanon overcome the difficult circumstances it is going through, because it has endured a lot for the good of Arab causes, the main one of which is the Palestinian question.
President Aoun reaffirmed that the next government will undertake the necessary reforms in conjunction with the forensic financial audit of the accounts of the Banque du Liban, institutions and all public administrations, in a fundamental step to combat corruption and prevent the recurrence of errors that occurred in the country years ago. President Aoun indicated that the formation of the new government faces some difficulties that can be overcome if a criterion is adopted in the formation so that the government faces the great challenges that await it as a result of the situation in the country and ensure cooperation. between the executive and legislative authorities.
Ambassador Zaki conveyed to President Aoun the greetings of the Secretary General of the League of Arab States, Mr. Ahmed Aboul Gheit, his close monitoring of events in Lebanon and his willingness to play any role that the League could play in helping Lebanon. to overcome their harsh conditions.
The meeting was attended by the President of the Arab Center for Legal and Judicial Research, Ambassador Abdel-Rahman Al-Solh, and the Vice President of the Center, Dr. Youssef Al-Sabawi. On the Lebanese side, the Director General of the Presidency of the Republic, Dr. Antoine Choucair, and the two advisers Rafik Shalala and Osama Khashab attended.
After the meeting, Ambassador Zaki told reporters: “I had the honor to meet today with the President of the Republic, General Michel Aoun. I am here today with a mandate from the Secretary General of the League of Arab States to acquaint myself with the Lebanese leaders and presidents about the political situation in the country and the issue of government formation and the difficulties faced by Lebanon in this regard. Look “.
He continued: “From the outside it seems to us that the situation has complications. We wanted to understand what was happening, and if there was any way to help the Arab League, we offered our good offices in this regard. We hope that the government will see the light as soon as possible. and we want to help Lebanon come out of its crisis. ” Current “.
He said: “The crisis is complex and has economic and financial aspects, as well as political, etc. The hope is that there will be some kind of consensus to get out of the crisis and on how to do it. It is clear that there are obstacles in that regard. We hope through these contacts and let us activate them to see how Lebanon can get out of this situation because it is clear that the Lebanese people are suffering and suffering many pressures of life, life and financial. Consequently, the work in the traditional routine can be left aside in favor of exceptional work that takes into account the special current situation of the country.
He concluded: “The aim was to become familiar with the situation and hear an assessment of the situation as a whole, and God willing, we can help until Lebanon comes out of this crisis.”
Question: Was there a specific initiative that you brought to Lebanon and where is the Arab League from the successive crises that occurred in it?
He replied: What we have brought is not considered an initiative, but the Arab League, as we always say, when it accompanies Lebanon in all its stations, accompanies it, not necessarily of sticking and daily monitoring coming and sending its delegates and envoys, but that there is follow-up work on everything that is happening in this country, because we feel there is a responsibility towards that. However, there are responsibilities and events that fall on the shoulders of officials and politicians in Lebanon who must resolve them on their own. The Arab League, in all cases, will not replace any Lebanese party, but it will be an auxiliary party if the Lebanese are willing and interested in having an Arab role to help them, and we are prepared for that.
Question: Is the recognition process that you are carrying out limited only to Lebanon, especially since its economic and political crisis is not only internal to Lebanese, so it will look towards the main Arab countries to lift this economic and political siege on Lebanon?
MP Hariri: I am not sure that using the term economic and political blockade is a description that reflects the situation. I respect this saying, but once again, when Lebanese politicians agree on a way out of this crisis, it can be a clear signal to abroad, Arab or foreign, that there is the necessary and required seriousness to get out of the crisis, which allows the situation in Lebanon to be seriously addressed. Now, when the observer looks from the outside, he sees that there is a treatment that resembles normal treatment with any normal situation of government formation, for example, as if the country did not go through real crises that threaten the State entity itself, such as we hear from all politicians. It is necessary for the Lebanese themselves, that is, the Lebanese leaders who bear all the responsibility, to remove the country from this difficult and delicate region in which it currently finds itself. And when he comes out politically forming the so-called government, we hope that this will open the way for all who want and have a sincere intention to help Lebanon, be they Arab or foreign.
Also diplomatically, President Aoun received the Director of the UNESCO Regional Office for Education in the Arab Countries and the UNESCO representative in Lebanon, Dr. Hamad bin Saif Al Hammami, on a farewell visit on the occasion of the end of its functions in Lebanon. President Aoun praised the efforts made by Dr. Hamami during his eight-year work in Lebanon, which resulted in the implementation of several projects to support Lebanon, including the “Beirut” initiative, rehabilitating 40 schools, equipping others. 94 with equipment and psychological support sessions for schoolchildren and their families affected by the port explosion. And the conservation management plan for the Tripoli Fair and the provision of technical and material support to the Ministry of Education to develop education through the Internet, as well as the financing of two projects to support media literacy and the Oriental Library from Saint Joseph University and other projects to support educational Syrian refugees.
President Aoun wished Dr. Hammami success in his new responsibilities as the representative of the Sultanate of Oman at UNESCO in Paris.
In Baabda Palace, the Audit Office is headed by Judge Muhammad Badran and the Court Prosecutor is Judge Fawzi Khamis and Judges Jamal Mahmoud, Abdel-Ridha Nasser, Angham Al-Bustani, Rania Al-Lakis and Rozi Bou Hadeer, who provided President Aoun with a special report on the implementation of urban loan agreements in Beirut. Financed by the World Bank.
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