Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry arrived in Beirut Tuesday to
show solidarity after Lebanon’s devastating port explosions.
The visit comes as President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi expressed strong keenness on
helping unstable Lebanon. He took part on Sunday in a virtual donors’
conference co-hosted by French President Emmanuel Macron and the United
Nations, with the aim of obtaining aid for Beirut.
On Monday, Egyptian Ambassador to Lebanon Yasser Alwi met with former Prime
Minister Saad Hariri, who remains to be an important political figure, they
discussed repercussions of the deadly blast at the Beirut port after it claimed
the lives of more than 150 people and injured more than 6,000 others.
“it was decided to triple the size of the aid, so that a plane arrives to
Beirut every 48 hours. The total volume that I have been notified about so far
is 210 tons and it will increase. It includes food supplies, flour and relief
materials. Contributions were also sent from the Egyptian Red Crescent and many
associations because Lebanon is present in the hearts of all Egyptians who are
always ready to provide all support to Lebanon,” the Lebanese National News
Agency reported Alwi as saying.
Alwi added that Egypt has launched a sea bridge to ship sent by the Egyptian
the Federation of Industries, carrying glass, aluminum and marble, to
contribute to the reconstruction of the demolished apartments, the third
Egyptian plane carrying medical assistance arrived in Lebanon on Monday,
carrying 14 tons of medicines and wheat to cover the country's local needs
after it lost its strategic stockpile following the collapse of silos in the
port blast.
During Sisi’s speech at the virtual donor conference, he called on Lebanese
people to “focus their efforts on strengthening the Lebanese national state
institutions and meeting the aspirations of the Lebanese people, through
implementing compulsory economic reforms, which can no way be adjourned.”
These economic reforms will qualify Lebanon to “obtain the trust of
international financial institutions and international support, which would
positively reflect on Lebanon’s path toward achieving stability, development
and prosperity,” the President added, according to the spokesman.
Source: Egypt Today
