Aoun Inaugurates 30th Ministerial Session of the UN ESCWA

President Michel Aoun inaugurated the 30th Ministerial Session of the UNESCWA at its headquarters in Beirut where he highlighted the crisis of Syrian refugees saying it is “bigger than Lebanon’s ability to tolerate,” and stressed that corruption will no longer be neglected.

Lebanon “understands the humanitarian dimension of the suffering of the displaced, but it is a problem that exceeds our financial, economic and social ability to tolerate,” said Aoun.

“We are determined to find the necessary solutions and we hope that the Arab and international communities will help us achieve this goal and help the displaced return,” he added.

On the other hand, Aoun said although Lebanon is facing several challenges but corruption must be put to an end, he said, “let it be known that the time has come for punishment for corruption. There will be no more negligence regarding achievements made through illegal gains,” he added.

Furthermore, he stressed that Lebanon recognizes the importance of technology and its role in economic development. “It is very reliable in the programs that we intend to formulate and implement in the next period of time within the framework of economic and social planning.”

He added that sustainable development aims at saving societies from their current problems of poverty, hunger, illiteracy and disease, while at the same time providing a decent life for future generations.

Aoun explained that Lebanon is facing challenges that are very similar to the challenges of sustainable development in terms of the need to address the problems of the present and prepare for the future.

“We are determined to confront the accumulated crises that began half a century ago and continued over the years and decades and particularly reflected in the chronic gap between the State revenues and expenditures and the growing public debt,” he said stressing the corruption will no longer be tolerated.