Minister Merhebi Hails Qatar's Generous Contributions to Lebanon

Lebanon's Minister of State for Refugee Affairs Mouin Merhebi highlighted Qatar's continuous support for Lebanon's stability and prosperity. 
Speaking to Qatari newspaper (Arrayah), Minister Merhebi said that the Lebanese people will never forget the generous contributions of Qatar which helped them through the most difficult and critical times. 
The Minister shed light on the refugees crisis which Lebanon's has been through for five years, noting huge challenges in providing the needed humanitarian assistance for the Syrian refugees in a time when the Lebanese government was trying to restore a sound, transparent and coherent management of this crisis on the basis of complementarity between relief and development. 
Speaking about the role of the Refugee Affairs Ministry, he said that the Ministry is concerned with alleviating the suffering of the refugees and provide humanitarian assistance to the refugees till their safe return to their country, stressing the need for a bigger support from the international community. 
The Minister underlined the importance of finding a political solution to the Syrian crisis, noting that Lebanon with its limited resources and weak economy has no ability to shoulder the burden of the crisis or its economic impact. 
He noted intense competition in the labor market between the Lebanese people and the Syrian refugees, saying that Lebanon cannot add more than 400 thousand job opportunities for the unemployed from both sides. 
The Minister added that Lebanon suffers from the lack of infrastructure in the areas of heavy displacement, including water, electricity, sanitation, schools, hospitals and roads. The implementation of these projects can be used to create thousands of jobs. 
He said that the Lebanese government is following up with the donor countries the mechanism to fulfill its commitments, the Ministry coordinates this mechanism with partners in the United Nations and the international community. 

Source: QNA