Lebanons Aoun calls for establishing 'Arab Reconstruction Bank'

Mubasher: Lebanese President Michel Aoun on Sunday called for launching an "Arab bank for rebuilding conflict-afflicted Arab countries.”

The proposal took place on the sideline of the opening of Beirut’s Arab Economic and Social Development Summit.

“The holding of the summit today reaffirms Lebanon's role and message and we were hoping the summit would be an occasion to unite all Arabs without the presence of vacant seats. We exerted efforts to remove the obstacles but unfortunately they were stronger than us,” Aoun said.

He also urged Arab leaders and world powers to exert more efforts for Syrian refugees to return home regardless of any political solution to the war there.

“We are not here today to discuss the reasons behind the wars but rather their destructive impact on the economies of our countries,” the Lebanese president said.

It is worth noting that more than 1 million Syrian people have fled across the border to Lebanon since Syria’s conflict erupted in 2011, where aid agencies say most refugees live in extreme poverty.