Prime Minister Mikati holds a series of meetings with UN officials

Prime Minister Najib Mikati continued to monitor the situation in the south by communicating with Army Commander General Joseph Aoun and the leadership of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL).

It is scheduled that President Mikati will receive the United Nations Special Coordinator for Lebanon Joanna Wronecka and a delegation from the UNIFIL, led by Commander General Aroldo Lazaro, at 4:00 p.m. on Thursday.

On Thursday, the Prime Minister received the UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, Tor Wennesland, Political Adviser to the UN Special Coordinator, Miroslav Jenča, and Director of Political Affairs, George Raikes, at the Grand Serail.

During the meeting, the focus was on Lebanon's commitment to international resolutions and the Blue Line, as well as the necessity to maintain calm and stability in the south.

Prime Minister Mikati also received the Ambassador of Italy to Lebanon, Nicoletta Bombardieri. The meeting discussed the general situation and bilateral relations between the two countries.

Furthermore, he met with the Expatriates Minister Issam Sharafeddine, who announced after the meeting that they discussed the issue of visiting Syria. He added that the President would contact the Foreign Affairs and Expatriates Minister to request a meeting for the committee formed to visit Syria as soon as possible.

Regarding the communications with the Syrian side, Sharafeddine stated, "we discussed the most important item, which is the tripartite committee requested by Lebanon at the Brussels Conference, and the Syrian side agreed to it. However, the approval of the UN High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR), which is being pressured by donor countries, remains. The statements of the political official at the European Union, Josep Borrell, were not encouraging. Still, through pressure and external lobbying with the tripartite committee and the Arab League, we can achieve good results that will translate into a mechanism and a program for return with the Syrian side."

Additionally, Prime Minister Mikati met with Agriculture Minister Abbas Al Haj Hassan, who briefed him on the overall agricultural activity in Lebanon, specifically regarding the issue that concerns the country, the government, farmers, unions, and the entire agricultural sector. This is the recent imposition of a 10 percent tax by the Egyptian side on all products entering Egypt, including Lebanese products.

Regarding this matter, the Prime Minister stated, "we have been in contact with the Egyptian government, and the President also called the Egyptian Prime Minister. I will visit Egypt next Saturday and meet with the Egyptian Agriculture Minister and some officials to discuss this matter. There is a possibility of an exception or reduction of this tax on the Lebanese citizen."

"We also discussed the issue of wheat and its purchase. We are waiting for the committee formed by the Finance, Economy, and Agriculture Ministries to establish a mechanism for financial transactions. Today, Mikati received a delegation of farmers and unionists, and we will study the possibility of supporting both soft and durum wheat if there is an opportunity. The matters are open for the good of the agricultural sector in general. A vibrant and thriving economy cannot exist without agriculture and industry," he continued.  

Furthermore, President Mikati received Deputy Haydar Nasser.

He also received a delegation from the Wheat Farmers Union in Lebanon, headed by Khaled Shouman. After the meeting, Shouman said, "we informed Mikati about the issue of wheat cultivation and the support recently approved by the Cabinet, and we requested him to reconsider increasing the price of wheat or compensating the farmers."