Kaag Discusses Lebanon with UAE Officials, Lauds 'Successful' Polls

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U.N. Special Coordinator for Lebanon Sigrid Kaag visited the United Arab Emirates on Monday for talks on Lebanon, her office said.

She met with the UAE assistant foreign minister for security and military affairs, the state minister for foreign affairs and the state minister for international cooperation as well as with members of the diplomatic community.

Talks tackled “Lebanon’s stability and security, and efforts to support humanitarian and critical development needs,” Kaag's office said.

Noting the “complex challenges” facing Lebanon, the Special Coordinator expressed the hope that international assistance would be sustained.

Earlier in the day, Kaag welcomed the “successful completion of municipal elections in Lebanon.”

In a statement issued by her media office, Kaag hailed the “safe environment that prevailed thanks to the efforts of the Ministry of Interior and the security forces.”

The Special Coordinator expressed the hope that “the success of the municipal elections would contribute to breaking the political deadlock in the country, leading to the election of a president and paving the way for parliamentary elections.”

On Sunday, Lebanon concluded its fourth and last round of municipal elections in the governorates of the North and Akkar.

The first three rounds were held in three stages in Beirut, Baalbek-al-Hermel, Mount Lebanon, South and Nabatieh.

Lebanon's interior ministry praised Monday the success of the municipal elections, as Interior Minister Nouhad al-Mashnouq hailed the polls and hoped that they would be followed by parliamentary and hopefully presidential ones.

Lebanon has been witnessing a vacuum at its top state post since May 2014 when the term of president Michel Suleiman ended.

SourceNaharnet
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