Lebanonese President Emile Lahoud, who will start an official two-day visit to Tunisia on Wednesday, aims to revive Lebanon’s status as a link between the West and East on both Arab and international levels, reported the official Kuwaiti news agency, KUNA.
Citing an interview with the Tunisian news agency on the occasion of Lahoud's visit, KUNA said the president expressed hope that his country would return its previous role as a main cultural and tourist center for Arab countries and as a connection between the West and the East.
However, Lahoud did not deny his disappointment over not receiving the Arab aid needed for major projects to reconstruct Lebanon, which was once an Arab financial and recreation center.
In the interview, Lahoud said that reconstructing the liberated lands in the south required a huge amount of assistance, adding that many Arab countries had promised to help, but only a few countries had fulfilled their pledges.
“We ask our brotherly Arab countries to provide the resistance factors for a country that resists US-backed Israeli pressures," he said, according to the agency.
At the international level, Lahoud also wishes to bring back Lebanon’s bright image, which has always "reflected the peaceful coexistence among religions, nationalities and civilizations." – Albawaba.com
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