Lebanon PM says working to repair relations with Arab states

Lebanon’s Prime Minister Najib Mikati says that he is working to rebuild relations with Arab states.

“The government will take all the required steps by itself to reconnect those who have been cut off in Lebanon’s relations with the Arab brothers, and we know in return the Arab brothers’ keenness to preserve Lebanon’s unity and protect it from any dangers that may surround it,” Mikati said in a statement published by Sawt Beirut.

“This country has always been a message to embody love and coexistence between religions, and the Arab brothers have always been quick to rescue it from its stumbles, whenever adversities befall it, based on their brotherly understanding of the privacy and diversity of its fabric.”

The comments were in a statement published to coincide with the Prime Minister’s visit to his home town of Tripoli, in the country’s north.

Relations between Lebanon and Gulf states have frayed as the rising influence of Hezbollah has made Arab rulers unwilling to channel aid into the crisis-stricken country.

Spiralling debt led to a Lebanese financial crisis in August 2019, which was further exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic and a disastrous explosion at Beirut port in August 2020 that killed more than 200 people.