UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres arrives in Beirut on a “solidarity” trip to Lebanon as the country remains in the throes of a crippling financial crisis.
“If there is a word to characterize my visit, that word is solidarity,” Guterres says in a statement upon arrival.
He previously called on Lebanese officials to unite to find solutions to the country’s dire economic crisis, dubbed by the World Bank as among the planet’s worst since the 1850s.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres addresses media representatives at a European Union summit in Brussels, on June 24, 2021. (John Thys/Pool/AFP)
“The divisions among political leaders in Lebanon have paralyzed the institutions,” Guterres told reporters Thursday at the UN headquarters in New York.
This makes it impossible “to reach agreement with IMF… to launch effective economic programs, and to create the conditions for the country to initiate the recovery,” he added.
Around 80 percent of Lebanon’s population is estimated to be living under the poverty line.
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