Visit aims to rebuild trust with Lebanon: Kuwait foreign minister

Kuwait’s foreign minister said on Saturday he was visiting Lebanon to rebuild trust with the country and show solidarity with the Lebanese people, adding that the move had been coordinated with other Gulf countries.

Foreign Minister Sheikh Ahmad Nasser Al-Mohammad Al-Sabah’s visit to Beirut was the first by a senior Gulf Arab official since a diplomatic rift over comments made by a former Lebanese minister that were critical of Saudi Arabia’s role in the Yemen war.

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Sheikh Ahmad was speaking after meeting Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati.

Earlier on Saturday, Prime Minister Mikati’s office announced the visit in a statement.

The Gulf Cooperation Council had called on Lebanon in December to prevent Iran-backed Hezbollah group from conducting “terrorist operations,” strengthen its military and ensure that arms were limited to state institutions.

Sheikh Ahmad is expected to meet Hezbollah allies President Michel Aoun and Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri on Sunday, according to Lebanese official sources.

Aoun and Mikati have called for dialogue with Saudi Arabia to resolve the diplomatic crisis, which has piled onto an economic meltdown now in its third year.

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