Egypt s Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly (R) receives Lebanon s Prime Minister Najib Mikati at Cairo International Airport, 9 December 2021. Lebanese Cabinet
Egypt’s Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly received his Lebanese counterpart at Cairo International Airport.
Mikati is scheduled to meet with President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi, the Lebanese Cabinet said in a statement on Thursday.
He will also be meeting with Secretary-General of the Arab League (AL) Ahmed Abu El-Gheit at the AL’s headquarters, the statement noted.
Miktati will be discussing with Madbouly bilateral cooperation and regional and international issues of mutual concern, the Egyptian Cabinet said in a statement.
Egypt has welcomed the formation of Mikati’s government in September, hoping that it will contribute to ending the prolonged political crisis in the Arab country.
Lebanon has been mired in political and economic crises in recent years, especially since the devastating blast at Beirut port in August of last year, which killed at least 214 people and destroyed and damaged thousands of buildings and businesses across the city.
Furthermore, after the blast, anti-government protests caused the government of Hassan Diab to resign less than a year from its formation, leaving the country without an administration for a year.
Egypt has affirmed it will work to support the new government with the intention to realise the Lebanese people’s aspirations for a better future.
As part of a previously agreed upon roadmap to ease Lebanon’s crippling crisis, Egypt said in October it will export gas to Lebanon soon through Syria and Jordan.
This came amid Lebanon’s energy crisis, when its two main power plants — which had been generating 40 percent of the country’s energy — were shut down earlier this year due to fuel shortages.
As per the agreement with Cairo, Egyptian gas will be transported via Jordan and Syria to northern Lebanon to activate gas-operated power plants that had been non-functional for 11 years.
In August, Egypt’s Arab Contractors Company won a bid to develop Lebanon’s major Port of Tripoli and its facilities.
The development of the port is scheduled to be followed by a number of projects to enhance Egypt’s economic presence in Lebanon, especially in the fields of technology and expertise exchange, specifically in Tripoli city.
Short link: