US Secretary of State Antony Blinken met his Saudi and French counterparts at the G20 ministerial. Reuters
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken met his Saudi and French counterparts at the G20 ministerial. Reuters
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken met his Saudi and French counterparts at the G20 ministerial. Reuters
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken met his Saudi and French counterparts at the G20 ministerial. Reuters

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Blinken meets with Saudi and French counterparts to discuss Lebanon reform

Lebanon's spiralling economic crisis continues as leaders fail to form new government

The National

June 29, 2021

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US Secretary of State Antony Blinken met his Saudi and French counterparts on Tuesday on the sidelines of a G20 ministerial in Rome to put the heat on Lebanese political leaders to implement economic reforms as they continue to fail to form a government.

Mr Blinken noted on Twitter that he had met Saudi Prince Faisal bin Farhan and French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian to call on “Lebanon’s political leaders to show real leadership by implementing overdue reforms to stabilise the economy and provide the Lebanese people much-needed relief".

The US and France have repeatedly called on Lebanon to enact economic reforms, but the Lebanese political elite have been unable to coalesce around a new government to implement those reforms since former prime minister Hassan Diab resigned last year after a deadly explosion at Beirut port.

For its part, Saudi Arabia banned the import of Lebanese agricultural goods in April, citing continuing illicit drug shipments from the country.

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The economic crisis, deteriorating living conditions and skyrocketing price of consumer goods in Lebanon led to an intensified round of protests in Tripoli at the weekend, with demonstrators scuffling with the army, resulting in 18 injuries.

The US secretary of state also noted that he had raised the Biden administration’s efforts to broker a ceasefire between the Saudi Arabia-led coalition and the Houthi rebels in Yemen as well as “continued progress on human rights and economic reforms” in the kingdom during his meeting with Prince Faisal.

The Biden administration has repeatedly denounced the Houthis for their continuing offensive against Marib, the last stronghold of the internationally recognised Yemeni government.

Saudi Arabia has also blocked some fuel tankers from arriving to Yemen’s Hodeidah port, while the Houthi rebels controlling the port have also diverted arriving fuel shipments to generate revenue.

Lebanon protests – in pictures

A demonstrator is seen next to a burning fire in front of a bank during a protest against growing economic hardship in Sidon, Lebanon. Reuters
A demonstrator is seen next to a burning fire in front of a bank during a protest against growing economic hardship in Sidon, Lebanon. Reuters
A detained demonstrator stands near Lebanese army soldiers during a protest against growing economic hardship in Sidon, Lebanon. Reuters
A detained demonstrator stands near Lebanese army soldiers during a protest against growing economic hardship in Sidon, Lebanon. Reuters
Interior view of a damaged bank that was set ablaze by protesters in Tripoli, northern Lebanon. EPA
Interior view of a damaged bank that was set ablaze by protesters in Tripoli, northern Lebanon. EPA
Lebanese people inspect a burnt out car of the Lebanese Internal Security Forces which was set ablaze by protesters in Tripoli, northern Lebanon. EPA
Lebanese people inspect a burnt out car of the Lebanese Internal Security Forces which was set ablaze by protesters in Tripoli, northern Lebanon. EPA
Anti-government protesters shout slogans during a protest against the collapsing Lebanese currency and the price hikes of goods, in front the central bank in Beirut, Lebanon. EPA
Anti-government protesters shout slogans during a protest against the collapsing Lebanese currency and the price hikes of goods, in front the central bank in Beirut, Lebanon. EPA
Anti-government protesters ride their motorcycles during a protest against the collapsing Lebanese currency and the price hikes of goods, in front the central bank in Beirut, Lebanon. EPA
Anti-government protesters ride their motorcycles during a protest against the collapsing Lebanese currency and the price hikes of goods, in front the central bank in Beirut, Lebanon. EPA
Lebanese men inspect a burnt out car of the Lebanese Internal Security Forces which was set ablaze by protesters in Tripoli, northern Lebanon. EPA
Lebanese men inspect a burnt out car of the Lebanese Internal Security Forces which was set ablaze by protesters in Tripoli, northern Lebanon. EPA
Workers install metallic barriers on the facade of a bank as a protective measure against vandalism in Tripoli, northern Lebanon. EPA
Workers install metallic barriers on the facade of a bank as a protective measure against vandalism in Tripoli, northern Lebanon. EPA
Exterior view of a damaged bank that was set ablaze by protesters in Tripoli, northern Lebanon. EPA
Exterior view of a damaged bank that was set ablaze by protesters in Tripoli, northern Lebanon. EPA
Workers install metallic barriers along the facade of a bank as a protective measure against vandalism in the Lebanese capital Beirut. AFP
Workers install metallic barriers along the facade of a bank as a protective measure against vandalism in the Lebanese capital Beirut. AFP
Anti-government protesters shout slogans during a protest against the collapsing Lebanese currency and the price hikes of goods, in front the central bank in Beirut, Lebanon. EPA
Anti-government protesters shout slogans during a protest against the collapsing Lebanese currency and the price hikes of goods, in front the central bank in Beirut, Lebanon. EPA
Lebanese riot control police watch as annti-government protesters gather during a demonstration against the collapsing Lebanese currency and the price hikes of goods, in Beirut, Lebanon. EPA
Lebanese riot control police watch as annti-government protesters gather during a demonstration against the collapsing Lebanese currency and the price hikes of goods, in Beirut, Lebanon. EPA
Anti-government protesters ride their motorcycles during a protest against the collapsing Lebanese currency and the price hikes of goods, in front the central bank in Beirut, Lebanon. EPA
Anti-government protesters ride their motorcycles during a protest against the collapsing Lebanese currency and the price hikes of goods, in front the central bank in Beirut, Lebanon. EPA
A demonstrator smashes a window of a bank during a protest against growing economic hardship in Sidon, Lebanon. Reuters
A demonstrator smashes a window of a bank during a protest against growing economic hardship in Sidon, Lebanon. Reuters
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In 2018, the ICRC received 27,756 trace requests in the Middle East alone. The global total was 45,507.

 

There are 139,018 global trace requests that have not been resolved yet, 55,672 of these are in the Middle East region.

 

More than 540,000 individuals approached the ICRC in the Middle East asking to be reunited with missing loved ones in 2018.

 

The total figure for the entire world was 654,000 in 2018.

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While you're here
Dubai works towards better air quality by 2021

Dubai is on a mission to record good air quality for 90 per cent of the year – up from 86 per cent annually today – by 2021.

The municipality plans to have seven mobile air-monitoring stations by 2020 to capture more accurate data in hourly and daily trends of pollution.

These will be on the Palm Jumeirah, Al Qusais, Muhaisnah, Rashidiyah, Al Wasl, Al Quoz and Dubai Investment Park.

“It will allow real-time responding for emergency cases,” said Khaldoon Al Daraji, first environment safety officer at the municipality.

“We’re in a good position except for the cases that are out of our hands, such as sandstorms.

“Sandstorms are our main concern because the UAE is just a receiver.

“The hotspots are Iran, Saudi Arabia and southern Iraq, but we’re working hard with the region to reduce the cycle of sandstorm generation.”

Mr Al Daraji said monitoring as it stood covered 47 per cent of Dubai.

There are 12 fixed stations in the emirate, but Dubai also receives information from monitors belonging to other entities.

“There are 25 stations in total,” Mr Al Daraji said.

“We added new technology and equipment used for the first time for the detection of heavy metals.

“A hundred parameters can be detected but we want to expand it to make sure that the data captured can allow a baseline study in some areas to ensure they are well positioned.”

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Updated: June 29, 2021, 6:35 PM`