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Lebanon’s Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri met with French President Emmanuel Macron late Wednesday, looking for support to form a new government in Beirut.
Hariri’s office said the two met over dinner for two hours at the Presidential Palace in Paris.
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Discussions touched on Hariri’s efforts “to repair Lebanon’s Arab ties and garnering support to face the crises” Lebanon is facing.
According to the statement, Macron is preparing international support for Lebanon “as soon as a new government” is formed capable of implementing needed reforms to halt the economic collapse.
لبى الرئيس سعد الحريري مساء اليوم دعوة الرئيس الفرنسي @EmmanuelMacron الى عشاء عمل في قصر الرئاسة الفرنسية في #باريس، الاليزيه. وتناول اللقاء الذي دام ساعتين آخر التطورات الاقليمية ومساعي الرئيس الحريري لترميم علاقات لبنان العربية وحشد الدعم له في مواجهة الازمات التي يواجهها. ١/٣
— Saad Hariri (@saadhariri) February 10, 2021
The reconstruction of the Port of Beirut was also discussed, as were Lebanon’s internal obstacles facing the formation of a new government.
Lebanon has been without a fully functioning government since last August after Hassan Diab stepped down as prime minister following the Aug. 4 Beirut blast.
A general view shows the damaged grain silo following the Aug. 4 blast in Beirut’s port area, Aug. 8, 2020. (Reuters)
Macron visited Lebanon twice in the aftermath of the Beirut blast, but his calls for the ruling elite to form a government made up of experts fell upon deaf ears.
He has suggested he will visit Beirut again, but sources say this will not happen before a new government is formed.
Read more:
France’s Macron: No aid given to Lebanon without a government capable of reform
Macron’s ambitious Lebanon roadmap is full of gaps: Experts
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