KUWAIT: His Highness the Prime Minister Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah said on Wednesday that Kuwait has been backing Lebanon through the Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development (KFAED). This came during His Highness Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled's speech at the second international aid conference on Lebanon that was held virtually, upon calls by French President Emmanuel Macron and UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres.

"Today's meeting came after the first one on August 9, as evidence of our common determination to save Lebanon and our keenness to find a way out of the crisis facing the sisterly country in order to preserve its security and stability, and provide a dignified life to its people," he said.

The State of Kuwait has pledged providing humanitarian aid worth $11 million to Lebanon in the first edition of the conference held on August 9, Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled, who led a delegation to the videoconference, said, addressing President Macron and UN Chief Guterres as well as the attendees. Kuwait, consistently helped Lebanon and stood with it, began its contacts through the KFAED with officials in Lebanon to start implementing the development commitment to allocate $30 million to rebuild the grain silos destroyed in the Beirut Port explosion, he stressed.

He added that Kuwait was the first country that provided such humanitarian aid via an air bridge to Beirut International Airport, and the aid was distributed to the brotherly Lebanese people. He urged the Lebanese people to put their country's interest ahead of anything else so as to achieve their unity, security, safety and sovereignty. He extended his sincere thanks to Macron and Guterres for their invitation to this key meeting, which came, as he said, in light of the continuing bitter suffering of the brotherly Lebanese people.

The unemployment and poverty rates have increased in Lebanon, and the economic and monetary collapse have become clear due to the decline in the economic conditions and political tensions, he noted. Meanwhile, the huge explosion in Beirut Port has exacerbated these conditions in that country, in addition to the repercussions of the coronavirus pandemic. - KUNA