Name: David Hale tours Lebanese officials
Uploaded: 2019-12-20T08:53:34+00:00
Description: US Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs David Hale

2^min

US Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs David Hale arrived on Friday to Beirut where he is set to meet with top Lebanese officials.

Hale, who served as the US ambassador to Lebanon from 2013 until 2015, started his tour with talks with President Michel Aoun in the Baabda Presidential Palace.

Following the meeting, Hale said that "he is in Lebanon "to encourage political leaders in Lebanon to commit to the necessary reforms that can lead to a stable, prosperous, and secure country."

"it is high time to put aside partisan interests and act in a national interest advancing reforms and forming a government that is committed to undertake those reforms and capable of doing so," Hale added.

Hale then met with Speaker Nabih Berri in Ain el-Tineh.

During the meeting, the US official said that his country "has no role in saying who should lead or who should compromise" in any lebanese Cabinet.