Miqati Says Qatar Pledged to Directly Support Government over Refugees Crisis
Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Miqati said on Thursday that Qatar pledged to offer the Lebanese government direct funds to aid Syrian refugees on Lebanese territories.
Miqati said in comments published in As Safir newspaper that Doha will continue also to cooperate with international and humanitarian organizations to contribute in improving the conditions of the refugees.
The caretaker PM described his 15-minute meeting with Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani as “important,” saying that the Emir stressed on the importance of “elevating the bilateral ties between the two countries.”
Miqati met a number of Qatari officials, including the Emir, head of the Emiri Diwan Sheikh Abdullah bin Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, and Minister of Economy and Trade Sheikh Ahmed bin Jassem al-Thani during his one-day official visit to Doha.
There are over 800,000 registered Syrian refugees in Lebanon.
The unregistered refugees bring the number close to 1.3 million.
The security and political crises in Lebanon have been topped with a huge economic burden caused by the Syrian refugees who are escaping the fighting in the neighboring country.
The Lebanese authorities have warned that the massive influx of refugees in the past week could no longer be resolved through humanitarian aid.
They called for a political or security solution to end the crisis.
Miqati's visit to Doha is the first leg of a tour to Arab countries that includes Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates to shore up support for a proposal to establish a trust fund to implement the decision of the International Support Group for Lebanon.
The support group was inaugurated in New York in September on the sidelines of the 68th session of the General Assembly. It undertook to work together to mobilize support for the sovereignty and state institutions of Lebanon and to highlight and promote efforts to assist the country where it was most affected by the Syrian crisis, including in respect of strengthening the capacity of the Lebanese Armed Forces, assistance to refugees, and structural and financial support to the government.
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