Ministers Gear Up to End Syrian Refugee Crisis

Social Affairs Minister Rashid Derbas will kick off on Saturday a tour on Arab countries to tackle the ongoing Syrian refugee crisis with senior officials.

According to al-Mustaqbal newspaper, Derbas will travel to Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt.

The minister will attend during his visit to Cairo a conference on the Syrian refugee crisis.

Lebanon is hosting more than 1.1 million refugees, despite an overstretched infrastructure that has failed to meet the needs of its four million citizens.

The influx has placed new pressure on already scarce resources, and created resentment against Syrians in some places.

Despite the massive influx of people, the country has kept its borders open since the war in neighboring Syria began in March 2011.

Al-Mustaqbal daily also reported that Prime Minister Tammam Salam will travel to the German capital Berlin on an official visit on October 27.

He will be accompanied by Derbas and Foreign Minister Jebran Bassil.

Salam will discuss during the visit ways to support Lebanon in tackling the ongoing crisis and to urge Europeans to start sharing the burden of the displaced Syrians.

Germany will host on October 28 a conference that will focus on what can be done to help countries affected by the mass exodus of refugees from Syria.

On Friday night a meeting was held at the Grand Serail for the ministerial committee tasked with following up on the crisis of Syrian refugees.

The meeting was attended Bassil, Derbas, Interior Minister Nouhad al-Mashnouq and Labor Minister Sejaan Qazzi.

The conferees describe the meeting as “important,” An Nahar newspaper reported on Saturday.

They agreed on controlling the border between Lebanon and Syria, monitoring the movement of Syrian refugees on Lebanese territories, refusing to register or welcome any new refugee in the country, and urging Arab and European countries to contribute in sharing the burden of the displaced by hosting some of the refugees on its land.