NNA – President of the Republic, General Joseph Aoun, on Monday stressed the importance of unity in order to rebuild the country.

"We must be one hand to rebuild the country. This is not a difficult task if intentions are pure."

President Aoun also emphasized "the importance of forming a government that meets the aspirations of the Lebanese people and enables the country to rise again, especially economically,"

Aoun considered that forming the new government as soon as possible gives a positive signal to the outside world that Lebanon is on the right track. The Head of State reiterated that "everyone must be up to the responsibility, and those who cannot shoulder this responsibility should not hold power."

While President Aoun called for "combining efforts for the public interest," he considered that "Lebanon’s growth relies on all its sons, regardless of their sect affiliation."

President Aoun’s words came during his meeting respectively at Baadba Palace with Catholicos of the Armenian Church Aram I on top of a delegation, the Patriarch of the Syriac Catholic Church, Mar Ignatius Joseph III Younan, and Armenian Catholic Patriarch Raphaël Bedros XXI Minassian, who visited President Aoun to congratulate him on his election as president of the republic.

On the other hand, President Aoun met at Baabda Palace with Chinese Ambassador to Lebanon, Qian Minjian, who handed his host a letter of congratulations from China’s President Xi Jinping, on his election as president of the republic.

President Aoun conveyed his greetings to his Chinese counterpart, stressing his keenness to "strengthen the bilateral relations between the two countries in all fields."

President Aoun and Ambassador Minjian also held a tour d’horizon on the current situation in Lebanon, as well as cooperation between Lebanon and China.

Aoun also met at Baabda Palace with Lebanon’s Chargé d’Affaires in Brazil, Ambassador Carla Jazzar, with whom he discussed the bilateral relations between Lebanon and Brazil, and the conditions of the Lebanese expatriate community there.

============= L.Y