Egyptian amb. hands Lebanese president message from Sisi

CAIRO – 13 March 2020: Egyptian Ambassador to Beirut Yasser Allawi handed Lebanon’s President Michel Aoun a message from President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, the Lebanese Presidency said on Twitter.

During the meeting, Aoun and Allawi reviewed the situation in Lebanon and developments in the region, the Presidency said, without disclosing further details.

Late in January, Allawi held a meeting with Lebanon’s Prime Minister Hassan Diab, during which they discussed developments and some issues related to bilateral issues between the two countries, the Egyptian state’s news agency MENA reported.

Allawi reviewed with the prime minister, during the meeting, the activities of the Egyptian medical center, which has been established in Beirut two weeks earlier. The ambassador noted that the center receives about 500 people daily, who receive medical service free of charge, within the framework of Egyptian state’s keenness to support the Lebanese people, especially during the current economic situation in the sisterly country.

Lebanon has been hit by massive demonstrations against the political regime and banking sector. The country suffers its worst economic crisis in decades.

Concerning economy, banks have imposed tight restrictions on dollar withdrawals and transfers abroad, in a bid to tackle the severe liquidity crisis.

Diab took post as prime minister in December last year, succeeding popular Saad al-Hariri who has served since 2016. Saad is the son of the assassinated Prime Minister Rafic al-Hariri who died in 2005.