Bassil Appeals for Debt Relief to Resolve Refugee Crisis
إقرأ هذا الخبر بالعربية
Foreign Minister Jebran Bassil said Wednesday that the Syrian refugee crisis in Lebanon requires debt relief by the international community.
“The refugee crisis needs qualitative solutions by the international community such as debt relief and buying all our agricultural products,” Bassil said at the opening of the Beirut Ministerial Conference on the European Neighborhood Policy Review.
The FM warned that the crisis has severe economic, social and security repercussions on Syria's neighboring countries.
Social Affairs Minister Rashid Derbas said last week that the number of refugees registered with the U.N. refugee agency, the UNHCR, has reached approximately 1.2 million.
More Syrians have entered the country illegally and are not registered.
In his speech, Bassil called for “cooperation to dry the sources of Takfiri and Islamic State thoughts and their financial support coming from states, organizations or individuals.”
The conference is attended by European Commissioner for Enlargement and European Neighborhood Policy Johannes Hahn.
EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini and Hahn launched last March a consultation on the future of the European Neighborhood Policy (ENP) aiming at undertaking a fundamental review of its principles, scope and instruments in light of the significant developments in the region.
Hahn on Wednesday signed with Lebanese officials two financing agreements totaling 34 million euros ($38.13 million) in grants in support of national stability and the protection of maritime resources.
24 June 2015, 15:28
103
very smart point. However, most our debt is in eurobonds to private or institutional holders. I dont see how governmnts can grant us relief.
24 June 2015, 16:39
84
Wishful thinking as usual. You will not rest till you see Lebanon removed from the map.
24 June 2015, 17:15
02
Hm. Why was my comment about the funds that will disappear removed?
24 June 2015, 17:17
00
that debt is mainly owed to lebanese banks (i.e. lebanese depositors) and international institutional investors. Empty political comments from lebanese politicians.
24 June 2015, 18:39
42
No red, terrorist is not marxist...sadely, but each one has his political and ideological convictions..
But bassillo is acticting like a "chehhad"; we let the UN pay medical expensses of the refugies and those who cannot pay or medg refuse to cover we donnot treat and let die alone
We let the refuges pay their own rental, we (governement) donot offer shelter and we make a big fuss about putting some tents like in turkey or jordany( for sure it is not the best solution but yet is it better to have them sleeping in tbe street?..)
We let the UN give them tickets for food, 30doll a month and bassil and friend make a big fuss bc those are getting help and lebanese not (knowing that those tickets are used in lebanese shops) and the day UN cannot give ticket (like few monthes ago), we (leb gov) let them manage it by themself (ydabro rasson....)
24 June 2015, 18:39
42
And by the way; we still donnot consider them officially refuges but displaced because; first "ma fi chi bi souria, holl souweh" and so that they donnot get any rights of the refugee status...
Bassil and how the gov is acting is a disgrace, i hope we will never be in those syrian situation, and if we ever do that the country we'll go to doesnot treat us like this....
A disgrace..
24 June 2015, 18:54
52
imagine.
You talk about the leb govt as if it were obliged to take care of refugees. Let us be clear. We ARE NOT obliged. And if we welcome one refugee, we should be paid and thanked for it, not sh7adeh. it is our right.
We carried more than our burden of miseries of the region. Time for KSA and Iran the sources of misery to start taking their share instead of creating wargames for iran and stupid madrassah for KSA
24 June 2015, 19:23
41
We have nothing to blame on ourselves , we just want the world to come and fix our country because we are so great, indeed we have very secular modern and humaniterian boyscouts spreadding our values in irak syria.. under the banner of "ya hussein", really the all world should really thank us for what we are doing...
A Disgrace...
24 June 2015, 19:23
41
Exactly..
Thus i hope if someday we get forced to exile, and a lot of us did in the past, the ones we go to wouldnot act with us as we are acting with the syrians now...
And again it is bc of the syrian refuges that we donnot have electricity not because of the creed and the corruption of our politicians..
It is because of the syrian refuges that we donnot have adequate sewer system (not because of our politicians like for the sewer station readdy to work for years in tripoli funded by EU but not activated bc of our dear leadders couldn't get their share of it...
It is bc of the syrian refuges that lebanese people donnot have adequate access to medicine..
It is bc of them that the whales are getting extinct also...
