Lebanon to Top Agenda at Kuwait Arab Summit

The Arab Summit that will be held in Kuwait on March 25 and 26 is expected to tackle the latest developments in Lebanon and will be preceded by a meeting for the International Support Group for Lebanon that is set to be held in Paris in early March.

A diplomatic source said in comments published in As Safir newspaper that the Arab Summit will address the situation in Lebanon and stress its keenness to safeguard the country's stability, security and reiterate its support to the state's dissociation policy.

The source also pointed out that the Arab League Foreign ministers will also discuss the situation in Lebanon on March 5 and 6.

Sources told As Safir daily that a meeting between U.S. President Barack Obama and Saudi King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz that will be held in mid March in Riyadh is expected to tackle the developments in Lebanon.

The meeting will also discuss the upcoming presidential elections in Lebanon.

President Michel Suleiman's tenure ends in May 2014, but the constitutional period to elect a new head of state begins on March 25, two months prior to the expiration of Suleiman’s mandate.

Meanwhile, The International community is calling on the Lebanese to swiftly draft the cabinet's ministerial policy statement and attain the confidence vote at the parliament ahead of the International Support Group to Lebanon, which will be held on March 5 in Paris.

The support group was inaugurated in New York in September 2013,on the sidelines of the 68th session of the General Assembly. It undertook to work together to mobilize support for the sovereignty and state institutions of Lebanon and to highlight and promote efforts to assist the country where it was most affected by the Syrian crisis, including in respect of strengthening the capacity of the Lebanese Armed Forces, assistance to refugees, and structural and financial support to the government.

The number of Syrian refugees in Lebanon had surged to around 900,000 according to the United Nations' refugee agency (UNHCR) as Lebanon has been facing difficulties in coping with their burden.