Report: All Eyes On Aoun-Macron Meeting in Yerevan
An anticipated meeting on Friday between President Michel Aoun and French President Emmanuel Macron on the sidelines of the Francophone Summit in Yerevan, draws attention as it highlights the future of loans pledged for Lebanon at the CEDRE conference, al-Joumhouria daily reported on Friday.
Sources of the official Lebanese delegation to Armenia, said the two men are to meet in a side hall of the building that hosts the Francophone Summit.
Talks are expected to focus on the “government formation, the CEDRE Lebanon support conference and the Syrian refugees crisis,” they said.
Caretaker Foreign Minister Jebran Bassil will join the meeting, added the sources.
Whether Macron carries an initiative for Lebanon, they said “he is expected to urge the expedition of the government formation in order to save the pledges made at CEDRE.”
French Presidential Envoy Ambassador Pierre Dukan had on Thursday held talks with Speaker Nabih Berri and PM-designate Saad Hariri. He emphasized the need to expedite the formation.
Last month, Dukan had urged Berri to speed up the formation, otherwise the money allocated at CEDRE will be given to other countries.
International donors pledged $11 billion for Lebanon at the CEDRE economic conference in Paris held in April. But political disagreements have led to a delay in the implementation of loans and grants.
Source: Naharnet
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