German FM to Mikati: Germany supports Lebanese government in aiding Syrian refugees

Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati received on Thursday a phone call from German Foreign Minister, Guido Westerwelle who offered condolences on behalf of the German government and the German Chancellor Angela Merkel for the death of the victims of Tripoli’s explosions.               

During the phone call, the officials tackled the issue of the Syrian refugees in Lebanon, whereby the German minister stressed that his country has begun implementing its decision to receive five thousand Syrian nationals within the framework of handling the humanitarian issue and supporting the Lebanese government in providing aid to the refugees.                      

Commenting on the latest developments in Syria, the German minister said that his country seeks a unanimous decision to be issued by the United Nations Security Council.                   

On another note, Mikati conducted a series of phone calls with ministers, and financial and administrative officials, in order to keep pace with the latest developments, mainly in the case of the Syrian refugees. In this context, Mikati stressed the need to implement the measures aiming at controlling the influx of refugees into Lebanon in cooperation with international organizations.            

The UN Higher Council for Refugees (UNHCR) said in August that the number of Syrian refugees in Lebanon receiving aid from the government, the UN and its NGO partners has reached the threshold of 703,000.                   

The number of registered refugees is more than 592,000, while more than 110,000 are still waiting for their registration process to be completed, it said.