Mikati met with Sisi, Macron, and delegations in Dubai: Lebanon faces Israeli aggression that affects people and stones – Al-Binaa newspaper | Al-Binaa Newspaper

Prime Minister Najib Mikati announced that Lebanon is facing an Israeli aggression that affects humans and stones and causes intense climate impacts.
He said in his speech during the “COP 28 Conference of the Parties” held in Dubai, “I cannot stand here today as a representative of Lebanon, and not address the urgent need to strengthen our national capabilities for resilience, especially in areas where the challenges resulting from climate change intersect with wars.” “Lebanon faces an Israeli aggression that affects humans and stones and causes intense climate impacts, as large areas in Lebanon are exposed to the severe effects of environmental degradation resulting from the ongoing Israeli hostilities.”
He added, “Continuing violations, including the use of prohibited weapons such as white phosphorus, have caused the death of civilians and caused irreparable damage to more than five million square meters of forests, agricultural land, and thousands of olive trees, leading to the destruction of livelihoods and sources of income and the displacement of tens of thousands of Lebanese.” And Lebanese women.”
He believed that “it has become necessary for us to acknowledge these dire consequences of wars and military attacks on the environment, as it is very necessary to address them within international laws and international humanitarian law.”
On the other hand, Mikati met with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi in Dubai, where they discussed the situation in Lebanon and Gaza “and Egyptian efforts to stop the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip and reach a ceasefire in preparation for returning to searching for a comprehensive solution that takes into account Palestinian rights,” according to a statement. .
Mikati also met with French President Emmanuel Macron and discussed with him the situation in Gaza and southern Lebanon. The research touched on the results of the visit of Macron’s envoy to Lebanon, Jean-Yves Le Drian, and the conversations he held with officials and leaders.
The Prime Minister also met with a number of his counterparts in the delegations participating in the conference, and bilateral relations were discussed. Mikati met, in the presence of Minister of Energy and Water Walid Fayyad, with the Chairman of the Board of Directors and CEO of the French company Total Energies, Patrick Poigner. The periodic report prepared by Total Energies regarding drilling and exploration for gas and oil in Lebanese territorial waters was discussed, and the possibility of resuming drilling work at a second site in Block 9. Poigner indicated that “this matter depends on the report on the results that have occurred so far.” .
The research also touched on the possibility of drilling in Blocks No. 8 and 10 and the two offers submitted by Total Energies.
The Prime Minister hoped to “expedite the submission of the report so that, in light of the results, we can discuss the next steps.”
The attendees also discussed the offer submitted by Total Energies and Qatar Energies regarding generating electricity from solar energy as quickly as possible.
In turn, the Minister of the Environment, Dr. Nasser Yassin, continued his participation in the climate conference in Dubai as part of the official Lebanese delegation and met with the Director General of Neighborhood and Enlargement Negotiations at the European Commission, Geert-Jan Koopmann, and discussed with him the frameworks of cooperation between Lebanon and the European Commission in the environmental, economic and social fields and opportunities for increasing cooperation in… Environmental projects that the European Union contributes to supporting.
Yassin and Kooyman also discussed the need for a new approach from the European Union on the return of displaced Syrians from Lebanon to their homes and to support its implementation.