Lebanese Minister of Economy and Trade seeks to clarify statements condemned by Kuwait
Lebanese Minister of Economy and Trade Amin Salam sought to clarify statements condemned by Kuwait in which he spoke of financial assistance to rebuild grain silos destroyed by an explosion in the port of Beirut three years ago.
Salam said this week that he sent a letter to the Emir of Kuwait asking “on behalf of the Lebanese people… to rebuild the slums in Lebanon, not just in Beirut.”
The Lebanese minister’s remarks included that the decision to refinance the granaries could be taken with a “stroke of a pen,” according to Agence France-Presse.
Kuwait expresses strong condemnation and surprise
In a statement released on Saturday, Kuwaiti Foreign Minister Salem al-Sabah expressed Kuwait’s “strong condemnation and surprise at this statement” and called on the Lebanese Economy and Trade Minister to withdraw it.
Salam later said in a press conference that “the confusion around this phrase (with a stroke of the pen) has taken a very negative turn” and resulted in a negative focus “on the words and details and closing the eyes or not focusing on the content.” and content.”
Salam continued: “It was never our intention to belittle or block the constitutional and normal work of mending relations between two sister states such as Lebanon and Kuwait.”
A statement from the Kuwait Foreign Ministry stated that Salam’s statement “contradicts the most basic political norms and reflects a limited understanding of the nature of decision-making in the State of Kuwait, which is based on constitutional and institutional foundations, including grants and humanitarian loans provided by the government of the State of Kuwait to fraternal and friendly countries.”
Economic collapse and lack of reforms in Lebanon
Lebanon, which has been suffering from a presidential vacuum since late October, has been experiencing an economic collapse since 2019 that the World Bank called one of the worst in the world since 1850.
For more than a year, an interim government came to power in Lebanon, and despite the economic collapse, the Lebanese authorities have failed to implement the reforms that international bodies need approval to free up international credit to bring Lebanon out of the financial crisis.
Rebuilding efforts after the explosion in Beirut
And the granaries absorbed most of the huge explosion of ammonium nitrate that was stored without preventive measures in the port of Beirut on August 4, 2020.
The explosion claimed more than 220 lives and injured more than 6,500 people, and also caused widespread destruction in the port and several areas of the capital.
Most of the bunkers have been destroyed, and the remaining few are badly damaged and unusable.
