Information Minister, Melhem Riachi, confirmed on Thursday that the Lebanese President’s visit to the KSA and Qatar has fully served its purpose, without exaggeration.
Interviewed by NNA in the wake of the Lebanese President’s official visit to the Gulf, Riachy described the tour as “excellent” on so many different levels, adding that KSA and Qatar officials have revealed zealous concern on Lebanon’s military, security, and economic dossiers.
“We sensed full responsiveness and assertion on having gulf tourists return to Lebanon in an attempt to give Lebanon back its Arab-Middle Eastern dimension,” the Minister added.
Riachy reiterated his agreement with Saudi Information Minister to bolster ties between the Ministries of both countries, especially in line with altering the tasks of Lebanon’s Ministry of Information, which serves as a portal of communication and dialogue.
“Saudis are also heading in the same direction, and they have expressed insistence to support Lebanon’s Ministry of Information on its way to becoming fully digital,” he added.
On the other hand, Riachy denied any existing Saudi complaints about the way Lebanese media was functioning, with the exception of the KSA’s keenness having personal matters be respected.
“Political criticism should remain political and not turn into something personal. This will help safeguard bilateral relations between both countries,” he added.
“In Qatar, I held a meeting with the person in charge of Qatar media, whose rank is similar to that of an Information Minister, the person in charge of Al-Jazeera. We will maintain contact over issues of mutual interest at the level of media and communication. Qatar will help us a lot in this area and this is the future role of Lebanon’s Ministry of Information,” the Minister added.
