Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian expressed his country’s readiness to help Lebanon solve its problems and build power plants.
Prime Minister Najib Mikati said his country welcomed any effort from brotherly and friendly countries and the international community “as long as it falls within the context of helping preserve the the state and its constitutional institutions.”
Abdollahian had arrived in Beirut on Wednesday, following a visit to Moscow. He met with President Michel Aoun, Mikati and parliament Speaker Nabih Berri before holding a press conference with his Lebanese counterpart, Abdullah Bou Habib.
Upon his arrival, the Iranian foreign minister was received by the Director of Protocol at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Abeer Al-Ali, Iranian Ambassador to Lebanon Mohammad-Jalal Firouznia and delegations from the Amal movement and Hezbollah party.
Aoun voiced Lebanon’s support for Tehran’s efforts to achieve more rapprochement with the countries of the region, especially Arab states, and praised Iran’s “solidarity with Lebanon in facing its crises, and the assistance the country has provided following the Beirut port explosion.”
In remarks following his meeting with Berri, Abdollahian said there was a “joint emphasis on the need to enhance cooperation between the two brotherly countries in various fields.” They also highlighted the “the importance of the role played by the valiant Lebanese resistance in confronting Israel.”
The FM continued: “We have positively evaluated the Iranian-Saudi negotiations, and we believe that the presence of foreign powers in the region is the main factor that destabilizes security and creates problems.”
Mikati, for his part, told the Iranian official that Lebanon was “in dire need to improve the Lebanese people’s trust in the state and its institutions, through forging normal relations between countries based on mutual respect and common interests.”
He also welcomed the recent positive dialogue between Saudi Arabia and Iran in Baghdad.
