Mikati receives Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni

Caretaker Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati received Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who arrived in Beirut at 7 p.m., at the Grand Serail on Wednesday. The Italian head of government plans to inspect the Italian contingent of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), stationed on the border between Lebanon and northern Israel, where exchanges of fire between Hezbollah and the Israeli army have intensified in recent days.

On the Italian side, Deputy Minister of State Giovanbattista Fazzolari and Italian Ambassador to Lebanon Nicoletta Bombardieri attended the meeting, as did caretaker Lebanese Minister of Foreign Affairs Abdallah Bou Habib.

According to a statement issued by the Grand Serail, Mikati and Meloni in particular "expressed their satisfaction with UN Security Council Resolution 2728, which calls for a cease-fire in Gaza during the holy month of Ramadan, and expressed the hope that it would be implemented and become a lasting cease-fire."

"The Prime Minister reiterated Lebanon's commitment to the full implementation of all international resolutions relating to the region and Lebanon, in particular resolution 1701, and recalled that Israel must commit to its full implementation and cease its land, sea and air attacks against Lebanon's sovereignty," the text continues.

The head of government also "expressed his deep sadness and condemnation of the martyrdom of seven paramedics in southern Lebanon" on Tuesday night. Since then, the Israeli army has carried out several other bloody strikes in southern Lebanon.

Discussions also focused on the issue of Syrian refugees in Lebanon and illegal migrants in the Mediterranean region, as well as the need to unblock the Lebanese presidential election after almost a year and a half of vacancy since Michel Aoun's term of office came to an end at the end of October 2022.

This article originally appeared in French in L'Orient-Le Jour.