20 November 2013

KUWAIT CITY/BEIRUT: President Michel Sleiman cut short his trip to Kuwait Monday following the bombing earlier in the day of the Iranian Embassy in Beirut.

Speaking at the third Arab-African Summit, Sleiman condemned the attack, vowing that Lebanon would not allow imported terrorism to tear its social fabric apart, according to the National News Agency.

He went on to praise the warm relations between Arab and African countries, and thanked the other leaders for their condolences and condemnations. He spoke at some length about the possibility of boosting economic ties between the participating countries, and noted their similarly difficult histories, which complicate development.

Sleiman emphasized the need for stability as a precondition for investment, citing the Baabda Declaration and Lebanons desire to find a solution to the Syrian refugee crisis.

On the sidelines of the summit, Sleiman met with the emir of Kuwait, Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah and reportedly thanked him for his countrys continued support of Syrian refugees in Lebanon.

Sleiman, his wife and the Lebanese delegation left shortly after the evening session to return to Beirut.

Many Arab and African leaders present at the summit expressed solidarity with Lebanon, touching on the bombing in their speeches.

We stand with you, Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta said, condemning the horrible attack on the Lebanese people.

Tunisian President Moncef Marzouki condemned the bombings in the strongest terms, calling the terror attack part of a pointless battle against the people of the region.

Omar al-Bashir, the president of Sudan, condemned the criminal act that targeted Lebanons security and stability. The presidents of Mauritania and Senegal also condemned the attack.

The condemnations came just hours after Kuwaits emir warned of the fallout of the Syrian crisis on regional peace and security and called on states to help in the historic challenge of dealing with the humanitarian crisis and massive refugee influx for Syrias neighbors.

An urgent and painful question that we must address in this forum is the tragic situation in Syria, where the machine of death is killing people of Syria, Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah said.

The violence in Syria has displaced millions of refugees inside and outside Syria, which places a huge burden on the receiving states and the agencies concerned with displaced persons.

All this places us before a historic, moral and humanitarian responsibility, he said.

Sheikh Sabah said that Kuwait would host a new donor conference for states including Lebanon that receive refugees, but urged a political solution to the civil war in Syria to avoid the dangerous consequences that disrupt peace and security in the region.

The speeches at the summit, which opened Tuesday, focused on Arab-African relations, expanding investments in Africa, fighting terrorism, food security and reforming the U.N. Security Council.

Sheikh Sabah opened the conference by pledging $1 billion in soft loans to Africa over five years.

Copyright The Daily Star 2013.