Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati (left) during a meeting with Egyptian president Abdel-Fattah al-Sissi. (Credit: Dalati and Nohra)
BEIRUT — Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati met with Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi on the sidelines of the Arab League summit being held in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on Friday, the state-run National News Agency reported.
During the meeting, Sisi affirmed his “continuous support for Lebanon," expressing his hope for “the election of a new president for Lebanon as soon as possible,” according to NNA.
As for Mikati, he expressed his appreciation for “the continuous support provided by the Egyptian president to Lebanon in all fields and the great love he has for the Lebanese people, and his constant haste to provide everything that would help Lebanon to solve its problems.”
Lebanon's caretaker prime minister also met with his Iraqi counterpart, Mohamed Chia al-Soudani.
Mikati is expected to hold several sideline meetings with Arab leaders, according to Lebanese media.
Saudi Arabia invited Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to attend the summit for the first time since the start of the Syrian civil war in 2011, causing controversy, after Arab states agreed to reinstate Syria's full membership of the league following 12 years of suspension over Assad's crackdown on protests against him.
Lebanon's foreign minister, Abdullah Bou Habib, said last week that he had spoken with Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad about the return of Syrian refugees and curbing drug smuggling in the region, two issues that have been key to Arab countries' negotiations with Syria in recent months.
Dozens of displaced Syrian nationals have been deported from Lebanon since the start of April amid aggressive policing of the refugee community in Lebanon.