Libya’s absence from the Arab Economic Summit in Beirut has stirred a new political row between Speaker Nabih Berri and Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri.
In a speech before the Arab Private Sector Forum at Beirut’s Union of Arab Chambers, Hariri expressed regret over Libya’s decision not to attend the Arab high-level meeting, saying: “I am very pleased to see among the audience many brothers dear to my heart and to the heart of Lebanon, Lebanon that will continue to thrive through the ones who love it, and they are many among us today.”
“This is an occasion to express my deep regret over the absence of the Libyan delegation from this meeting and to emphasize that the relationship between brothers must remain above any offenses,” he added.
Berri responded promptly in a statement issued by his press office.
“The regret, all of this regret, should not be for the absence of the Libyan delegation, but for the absence of the ‘Lebanese delegation’ in facing the great offense to Lebanon committed almost four decades ago,” in reference to the disappearance of Imam Moussa Sadr during an official visit to Libya in 1978.
The row comes in parallel to another dispute between Berri and caretaker Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil, who expressed regret over the absence of Libya from the economic summit in Beirut, due to street tension in Beirut and the burning of the Libyan flag.
On Sunday, Berri’s Amal movement supporters removed Libyan flags placed along Beirut’s seaside avenue, as part of Arab League preparations to welcome countries attending the two-day Arab Economic Summit set to be held on Saturday.
On a different note, Hariri said in his speech that he hoped the summit would be successful and that the recommendations submitted by the Arab League would “be practical and enhance the living condition of citizens in Arab countries.”
