Prime Minister-designate Nawaf Salam received, this afternoon, at his residence, the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Antonio Guterres, in the presence of the United Nations Special Coordinator in Lebanon, Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, the United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Peace Operations, Jean-Pierre Lacroix, the Commander of the international forces operating in southern Lebanon (UNIFIL), General Aroldo Lazaro, ESCWA Executive Director Rula Dashti, and Assistant Secretary-General for the Middle East, Asia and the Pacific, Khaled Khayari.
Following the meeting, the UN Secretary-General said:
"I want to express the total support of the United Nations to the process that is taking place in Lebanon, in which with a new president, with a new prime minister that is forming a government, and opportunities created for Lebanon with also the completion of the ceasefire agreement with the withdrawal of the Israeli forces and the full assumption of responsibilities by the Lebanese Armed Forces.
We are absolutely convinced that this will represent an extraordinary development for Lebanon and the United Nations is fully behind the President, the government of Lebanon to mobilize the international community to fully support Lebanon that must regain its position of the true center of the middle east...Thank you.'
For his part, the Prime Minister-designate said:
"I want to thank the Secretary-General for his visit to Lebanon...Let me tell all those who don't know it, the Secretary-General is an old friend of Lebanon...I spent myself ten years in New York...This is why I know how much the Secretary-General had already done for Lebanon in his previous capacity as head of UNHCR...and well, before leaving the UN seven years ago, my last thing in New York was that I with the Secretary-General planted a cedar tree in the garden of the United Nations...Well now what I know is that we will be able to count on the Secretary-General in mobilizing diplomatic support to make sure that the Israelis withdraw on the day they should complete their withdrawal..2) That the Secretary-General will also mobilize all efforts for the conference President Macron yesterday talked about for the reconstruction, that it will be held soon and will have the greatest international support...and 3) I also raise the question of now the change of the situation in Syria...We need to start to prepare with the UN for a safe and dignified return of the Syrian refugees in Lebanon...and again I want to thank the Secretary-General for his visit."
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