MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 03rd December, 2020) French President Emmanuel Macron said on Wednesday that he will pay a visit to Lebanon later in December to discuss the implementation of reforms in the country, as well as the investigation into the the explosion in the port of Beirut in August.
"We will not back down neither on our promises nor on our demands regarding the reforms and the investigation on the explosion in the port [of Beirut]. I will travel to Lebanon again in December to carry out these demands," Macron said at a joint conference with UN chief Antonio Guterres on humanitarian aid to Lebanon.
During the last visit to Beirut in early September, the French leader proposed an initiative to help the country address the long-standing financial and economic crises if they comply with several requirements, including the holding of reforms, particularly in the energy and banking sectors.
The visit came after the powerful explosion in the Lebanese capital, which has been blamed on the improper storage of some 2,750 tonnes of ammonium nitrate. The blast brought widespread destruction and left at least 200 people killed. Thousands of others were injured.
