First coordination meeting in South Lebanon to be held in Msayleh Tuesday

BEIRUT — Senior government officials, international representatives, and local leaders will meet Tuesday in Msayleh (Saida) for Lebanon’s first coordination meeting aimed at accelerating reconstruction efforts in the South and Nabatieh governorates, an invitation to the event reads.

The meeting will host Deputy Prime Minister Tarek Mitri, relevant ministers, representatives from the World Bank and United Nations agencies, as well as the heads of municipal unions in the South and Nabatieh, the South Council, the Council for Development and Reconstruction, governors, and several members of parliament.

The initiative is organized by the Development and Liberation Parliamentary Bloc under the sponsorship of Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri.

Participating ministers included Finance, Public Works, Agriculture, Environment, and Health, reflecting a comprehensive governmental approach to the region’s recovery.

The choice of the location, in a village where in October, Israel struck hundreds of construction vehicles, causing losses worth millions of dollars, is highly symbolic. Berri has a residence close to the site of the strikes.

Reconstruction efforts in southern Lebanon, the Bekaa and the southern suburbs of Beirut have stalled, with the U.S. insisting that Hezbollah disarmament take place before funding is channeled into the country.

Lately, Israel has been targeting reconstruction equipment in southern Lebanon, including bulldozers, cranes and fuel tanks.

Prime Minister Nawaf Salam acknowledged that the state does not have “sufficient resources” to fund reconstruction, but expressed optimism that an international conference could soon be organized to raise financing.