Hariri Chairs Budget Session, Urges Int'l Community to Back Lebanon Economy

Prime Minister Saad Hariri on Monday chaired at the Grand Serail a Cabinet meeting focused on the draft state budget.

At the beginning of the session, Hariri said: “I will be heading next week to the Brussels conference on supporting the future of Syria, with the ministers of education, social affairs and displaced affairs, to present Lebanon’s plan to face the burdens of the Syrian displacement and ask for international support.”

“We are going with a unified vision on the way to deal with this crisis,” he added.

“Lebanon is a unique case. More than one third of its residents are displaced Syrians. As we welcome the continued Arab and international humanitarian aid for the displaced until they are able to return safely to their country, we have to explain that the infrastructure, the public services and the state’s budget in our country can no longer bear such pressure,” Hariri went on to say.

“Thus, we prepared a plan to improve the infrastructure and the public services in a way that equally benefits the Lebanese citizens and the Syrian displaced. The plan would increase the economic growth and create job opportunities, specially for the youth.”

And noting that Lebanon has fully fulfilled all its commitments towards the Syrian displaced crisis since the London Conference last year, Hariri said “now the international community should shoulder with Lebanon the responsibility of improving the infrastructure, public services and the Lebanese economy in general.”

“Lebanon represents the model of coexistence and the model of political solution for all the crises in the region. It is in the interest of the whole world to help Lebanon bear the burden of the Syrian displaced on its economy, infrastructure and public services,” Hariri added.