Kuwaiti foreign minister visits Lebanon to express support

Kuwaiti Foreign Minister Abdullah al-Yahya began an official visit Friday to Lebanon, after the country elected a new president and appointed a PM-designate.

“Our visit is for support, assistance and expressing our commitment to stand by Lebanon,” al-Yahya told President Joseph Aoun in a meeting in Baabda.

“We call for activating the joint Lebanese-Kuwaiti committees to address the current issues according to the Lebanese needs,” the minister added.

Gulf Cooperation Council chief Jassem al-Budaiwi, who accompanied al-Yahya to Baabda, for his part said that the GCC “backs Lebanon, its sovereignty and non-interference in its affairs.”

He also called for “preparing a Gulf program for Lebanon in coordination with the Lebanese government.”

President Aoun for his part said that “after the formation of the new government, there will be communication with the Gulf counties to lay out new foundations for cooperation, whose broad lines were mentioned in the inaugural speech that laid out the bases for building the state.”