Positive visit an achievement in itself: Lebanese Minister

His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al- Sabah bids farewell to Lebanese President Michel Aoun

KUWAIT: Lebanese President Michel Aoun and his accompanying delegation departed Kuwait yesterday an official visit and official talks with His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah. Upon departure, the Lebanese leader was seen off by His Highness the Amir, His Highness the Crown Prince Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, National Assembly Speaker Marzouq Al-Ghanem, His Highness the Prime Minister Sheikh Jaber Al-Mubarak Al-Hamad Al-Sabah, Minister of Amiri Diwan Affairs Sheikh Ali Jarrah Al-Sabah and several other senior state officials.

Aoun led a delegation to Kuwait Tuesday, his government's first visit to the Gulf since the shock resignation and return of the prime minister late last year. The "positive" visit, with talks on bilateral issues, was "an achievement in itself," said Lebanon's Minister of State for Administrative Reform Inaya Ezzeddine, speaking at a reception for the Lebanese community in Kuwait City. "The Amir of Kuwait expressed his readiness during the bilateral talks to support Lebanon in all files, and for Kuwait to back Lebanon in the region," she said.

The delegation met with the Kuwaiti Fund for Arab Economic Development, which Ezzeddine said she hoped would bear fruit for Lebanon's revitalization plans. "This government is in the process of developing new economic and development visions and God willing we will secure ways to finance them," she said, adding that Lebanon was working to finalize financial studies ahead of a planned support conference in Paris. Kuwait, meanwhile, has increasingly emerged as a regional force of moderation, taking on mediation of the Gulf political crisis. - Agencies