Saudi Ambassador to Lebanon Walid Bukhari shakes hands with Lebanese businessman and MP Michel Daher, in Ferzol, Bekaa on Tuesday. (Credit: Sarah Abdallah/L'Orient Today)
BEIRUT— Saudi Ambassador to Lebanon Walid Bukhari visited several parliamentary candidates in the Bekaa on Tuesday, our correspondent in the area reported.
Here’s what we know:
• The Saudi diplomat initially went to Ferzol, where he was received by businessman and MP Michel Daher, who is running on a list formed by the Kataeb party. In the 2018 elections, Daher allied with the Free Patriotic Movement, but left the parliamentary group on Aug. 8, 2020, following the Beirut port explosion.
• Bukhari then met with the Sunni candidate on the Lebanese Forces electoral list, Bilal Hechaimi, who is supported by former Prime Minister Fouad Siniora.
• Bukhari returned to Beirut last month after an absence of five months. His absence was a gesture of Saudi anger over critical remarks made by former Information Minister George Kurdahi. Since returning to Lebanon, Bukhari has held numerous meetings with local politicians and religious notables, reigniting Saudi diplomatic engagement in the country.