Hariri Receives Congratulatory Message from Trump, Meets Abu el-Gheit at Center House

Prime Minister Saad Hariri received a cable message from US President Donald Trump on Thursday congratulating him on the occasion of Independence Day in which he expressed the United States' “appreciation for the bilateral relations between the two countries and peoples,” Hariri's media office said.

In his message Trump pointed out saying that Lebanon has been a “strong partner with the United States in the face of terrorism and violent extremism,” stressing his country's steadfastness with Lebanon.

He said that the US will continue to support Lebanon's efforts to protect its stability and independence.

On a different note, Hariri received at the Center House in Beirut the Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Abu el-Gheit and the accompanying delegation in the presence of former Minister Bassem al-Sabeh and Hariri’s chief of staff Nader Hariri.

“I was honored to meet with Prime Minister Hariri and we had a very positive meeting. I listened to his ideas and we agreed to meet at the headquarters of the Arab League when he visits Cairo. I am confident that the future will carry good things for Lebanon,” said Abu el-Gheit after meeting Hariri.

To a question on whether he believes that what happened as for Hariri's resignation and putting it on hold, he said: “It might be so.”