Hariri Sponsors Reconciliation Ceremony for Aley Villages, Calls for Fortifying Civil Peace via Calm, Dialogue

Prime Minister Saad Hariri sponsored and attended Tuesday at the Grand Serail the signing ceremony of the reconciliation and return agreement for the towns of Abay, Bennieh and Ain Drafil in the district of Aley.

The ceremony was attended by Minister of the Displaced Akram Shehayeb, MPs Chant Gengenian, Fadi al-Habr, Dori Chamoun, Henri Helou, Fouad al-Saad and Alain Aoun, President of the Central Fund of the Displaced Fadi Aramouni and the Director General of the Ministry of the Displaced Ahmed Mahmoud, Marwan Abu Fadel representing MP Talal Arslan and members of return committees in the three towns.

At the onset of the ceremony, speeches were delivered by the Mayor of Abay-Ayn Drafil Nazih Hamzeh, the returnees' representative Antoine al-Bustani, Fadi Aramouni, and Minister Shehayeb.

For his part, PM Hariri said during the ceremony: "The bitter experiences of the past taught us to emphasize, on every occasion, on the necessity of strengthening the civil peace process through calm and dialogue, which solely protect the nation, preserve its institutions and give the citizens reassurance and stability."

"We congratulate the people of Abay, Bennieh and Ayn Drafil for this achievement and we hope to meet on similar occasions to close this file, so that our villages and towns would be prosperous once again, with the promise to launch a national development project in all areas that would help stimulate the economic cycle and reduce displacement and emigration," Hariri added.