Norway's FM Meets Senior Officials, Tackles Syrian Refugee Crisis

Visiting Norwegian Foreign Minister Borge Brende kicked off a series of meetings in Beirut on Friday with senior Lebanese officials, hailing the security improvement.

“We are committed to cooperating with Lebanon,” the FM said in a press conference with his Lebanese counterpart Jebran Bassil.

He thanked the Lebanese government for bearing responsibility towards the Syrian refugees on its territories.

“We are committed until the end to offer (the Lebanese government) the needed support to bear this crisis,” Brende said, voicing hope that the conflict in Syria would be resolved as soon as possible to end the “humanitarian crisis.”

The FM, who was accompanied by Norway’s Ambassador to Lebanon Svein Aass, revealed that his country will participate in the Rome conference that aims at fortifying the capabilities of the Lebanese Armed Forces and easing the Syrian refugees crisis.

“We will offer Lebanon all the needed aid to enable it to confront the challenges facing it,” the diplomat said.

Asked if his country supports an endeavor to establish camps for refugees along its border with Syria, Brende expressed trust “in the Lebanese government's adopted policies.”

For his part, Bassil explained the “difficult circumstances facing the Lebanese government due to the Syrian refugees crisis and the repercussions of the war in the neighboring country.”

Lebanon is home to more than a million refugees from Syria giving it the highest refugee population per capita in the world.

The FM later held a meeting with Prime Minister Tammam Salam at the Grand Serail.

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