Miqati to Deliver Speech at U.N. General Assembly Thursday, Meets Several Officials

Prime Minister Najib Miqati is scheduled to address on Thursday the 67th General Assembly meeting held at the United Nations headquarters in New York around midnight Beirut time.

The premier contacted President Michel Suleiman to brief him on the meetings that he held in New York with top officials, according to a statement issued by Miqati's press office.

Miqati is heading the Lebanese delegation to the 67th General Assembly session.

Miqati discussed with Cypriot President Demetris Christofias the bilateral ties and the country's exclusive economic zone.

The premier urged Christofias to support Lebanon in the European Council which is headed by it.

For his part, the Cypriot president expressed his country's support saying Lebanon and Cyprus share the same fate and are affected by the developments in the region.

Lebanon has been slow to exploit its maritime resources compared with other eastern Mediterranean countries. Israel, Cyprus and Turkey are all much more advanced in drilling for oil and gas.

Beirut argues that a maritime map it submitted to the U.N. is in line with an armistice accord drawn up in 1949, an agreement which is not contested by Israel.

Miqati also held talks with Libyan President Mohammed Yousef el-Magariaf.

The PM called on Libya during the meeting to swiftly unveil the fate of revered Lebanese spiritual leader Moussa al-Sadr and his two companions two companions Sheikh Mohammed Yacoub and journalist Abbas Badreddin.

Al-Sadr flew to Tripoli for a week of talks with Libyan officials in 1978. He was never seen or heard from again.

Libya had insisted the cleric and his two traveling companions left Tripoli on a flight to Rome and suggested he was a victim of a power struggle among Shiites.

Most of his followers are convinced that former Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi ordered al-Sadr killed.

Miqati discussed with el-Magariaf the importance of developing trade and economic cooperation between the two countries.

After a meeting with his Kuwaiti counterpart Sheikh Jaber al-Mubarak al-Hamad al-Sabah, Miqati stressed in comments to Kuwaiti media on the “excellent” ties between the two countries.

The PM also held separate meetings with Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi, Qatari PM Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber al-Thani, Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglo, and Bulgaria's Foreign Minister Nikolay Mladenov.