Lebanese President Michel Aoun is set to start a two-day official visit to Kuwait tomorrow Tuesday, upon the invitation of Emir Sabah al-Jaber al-Sabah, for talks over the bilateral relations and latest developments on the regional and international scenes.
“The relationship between Lebanon and Kuwait is strong, steady and historical, and our goal is to always reaffirm the bilateral relationship in all sectors,” President Aoun told the Kuwaiti Anbaa News Agency ahead of his trip.
“The message I will carry to Kuwait will not differ from the one I carried to other countries I have visited since being elected, the image of the strong Lebanon and the determination of the Lebanese that stood in the face of the attempts targeting Lebanon’s stability, security, and unity,” President Aoun said, stressing that his message enfolds a “genuine Lebanese wish to be open and to cooperate with everybody, within the standards that preserve each country’s rights, independence, and sovereignty.”
President Aoun went on to say that the world had realized that it was desirable to distance Lebanon from the metaphorical fires raging around the small country. “The Lebanese people also realized that the problems knocking on their doors were not minor. Lebanon and Kuwait are invited to work to prevent the exploitation of any inter-Arab conflict to end the Palestinian Cause,” the President said.
Moreover, and in an effort to reassure prospective tourists, President Aoun said the prevailing stable situation in Lebanon “is a testimony that stability is a red line that cannot be crossed, with the Lebanese will and the determination of the Lebanese Army and the security forces, which are doing their best.”
Turning to the Syrian refugee crisis, President Aoun said that this was a heavy responsibility for Lebanon due to its small geographical area, which “doesn’t permit it to host this huge number – which exceeds 1,820,000 refugees since the start of the war in Syria – in addition to the critical economic situation and security challenges.”
President Aoun will head a delegation comprised of Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil, Interior Minister Nohad Mashnouq, Telecommunications Minister Jamal Jarrah, Minister of State for Administrative Development Inaya Ezzeddine and Minister of State for Human Rights Affairs Ayman Choukair.
General Security chief General Abbas Ibrahim and the head of the Council for Development and Reconstruction, Nabil al-Jisr, will also join the delegation.
President Aoun is scheduled to hold talks with Prince al-Sabah, as well as with Kuwaiti Speaker Marzouq al-Ghanim, Prime Minister Jaber Al-Mubarak Al-Hamad Al-Sabah, and officials from the Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development.
President Aoun will also meet with the Lebanese Diaspora in Kuwait.
