President Mikati met with Iranian President Ibrahim Raisi, in the presence of Foreign Minister Abdullah Bou Habib, Iranian Foreign Minister Hussein Amir Abdollahian and President Mikati’s advisor, Ambassador Boutros Asaker.
President Mikati also accepted the invitation of French President Emmanuel Macron to participate in a dialogue meeting on food security in the world at the headquarters of the French mission to the United Nations.
On the occasion, President Mikati delivered a speech in which he said: Severe food insecurity threatens millions of people in the Middle East and Africa. Lebanon is no exception to this reality due to the unprecedented financial crisis we are facing, the Syrian refugee crisis due to the repercussions of the war in Syria, as well as our heavy dependence on Ukrainian and Russian wheat and fertilizers. Moreover, the conflict in Eastern Europe, along with the destruction of granaries in Lebanon in the aftermath of the tragic explosion in the port of Beirut sharply exacerbated the situation. The global disruption to the food and fertilizer supply chains has also directly affected my country.”
“We hope that rapid and collective global efforts will stabilize commodity markets and prices, avoid unnecessary trade restrictions, and mobilize affordable resources to support humanitarian agencies as well as affected countries,” he said.
He also called for strengthening social protection systems, supporting local production, helping small farmers, and ensuring the sustainability of supply chains.
President Mikati received the Vice President of the World Bank for the Middle East and North Africa, Farid Belhaj, who said: I was pleased to meet the Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati, where we discussed the economic and social challenges facing the country and the need for reforms to secure the continued support of the World Bank and partners
He was received by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Filippo Grandi, in the presence of
Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib and Lebanon’s permanent representative to the United Nations, Ambassador Amal Mudallali.
During the meeting, they discussed the issue of the relationship between Lebanon and the High Commissioner for Refugees, especially with regard to the issue of displaced Syrians, and the content of the letter sent by the Prime Minister to the Secretary-General of the United Nations in this regard.