The conference was attended by the Deputy Mayor, Rachid El Khazen, the Head of the Keserwan-Al Fatouh Traders Association, Consul Jacques Hakim, heads of economic and syndicate bodies, and members of the Municipal Council.
The conference began with the national anthem, then Afram spoke about the importance of the economy, stressing that “it is fundamental and constitutes the ultimate goal of our performance in the Jounieh Municipal Council, and therefore we have set the policy and plan to achieve it. We are all at the service of the economy, so we decided that after 180 days of work, Jounieh is now in a stage where it is able to absorb investments and cooperate and prove that the investor will have a positive experience in it.”
He added: “From here, we thought with His Excellency the Minister to carry out this model cooperation and partnership between the Municipality of Jounieh and the economic organizations in order to highlight the city’s potential and the opportunities available to the individual investor and cooperation between the public and private sectors, given the existence of many opportunities and assets owned by the municipality that must be invested, and we hope to create a model and partnership between the public and private sectors either through ppp or bot.”
Afram affirmed that “we are working on all levels of environment, culture, sports, tourism, investment, security, and rehabilitation of infrastructure, all of which are our priority, we are working on all fronts in the same way. We have reached where we are, and now we are ready to move to the second stage with the economic organizations.”
Afram also spoke about “the competitive advantages that distinguish Jounieh and make it a destination for investment in terms of its strategic and geographic location and its bay, which is the main attraction for real estate development, in addition to its banks, state departments and institutions, schools and universities, its old city, Fouad Chehab Complex, hospitals, commercial market, walking paths and religious sites.”
He pointed out that “one of the projects he is working on is restoring the destination to the Maameltein area in order to attract high-end tourism.”
For his part, Choucair praised this initiative, and said: “When I extended the invitation to colleagues in the economic organizations to participate in this meeting, I was surprised by everyone’s enthusiasm to attend, and those who apologized did so because of travel. This, if it indicates anything, indicates everyone’s love for this city and its wonderful region, which combines all the elements of beauty at once, and is distinguished by its people and everything in it. In fact, Jounieh is a city dear to my heart, and to the heart of every Lebanese.”
Choucair stressed that “we in the economic organizations were and still are with Jounieh. In order to revitalize the economic movement in the region, we established an economic center affiliated with the Beirut and Mount Lebanon Chamber in Jounieh to serve the region extending from Jbeil through Jounieh to the Metn coast, and we placed it at the disposal of economic syndicates and companies in various sectors. We also continuously followed up with the economic actors in the region on various issues related to productive sectors.”
Choucair pointed to the dialogue meeting organized by the Jounieh Traders Association, “which was an opportunity to discuss the general economic situation in Jounieh and Keserwan, and the development needs of the region.” He said: “We announced that day our commitment to be partners in this effort, because we in the economic organizations believe that the national economy is interconnected, and that sustainable economic and social development cannot be achieved without developing all regions and fully investing their potential.”
Choucair affirmed that “today, we renew the pledge. And I say in my name and in the name of the economic organizations: We are with you and by your side in every blessed effort that serves Jounieh and its people. We see that it holds a lot of potential and capabilities that, if invested properly, will bring good and prosperity to the region, and will create thousands of job opportunities for its sons. Therefore, as we suggested during the meeting with the Jounieh Traders Association, we reiterate today the proposal to contract with a specialized consulting firm to develop a guiding plan for the development of Jounieh and the region, while confirming our willingness to contribute to financing the project.”
He added: “There is no doubt that there are many vital projects that the Municipality of Jounieh can launch, but the main challenge remains in securing the necessary funding for their implementation.”
Choucair continued: “From here, the voice is raised again to expedite the issuance of the law on partnership between the public and private sectors that has been amended, to become the main pillar for awarding state projects to various institutions.”
He called for “giving the green light to awarding projects through BOT and privatization within a transparent and fair mechanism,” and pointed out that “adopting these mechanisms in awarding projects, whether belonging to the state or municipalities, would first determine the feasible projects from the unfeasible ones depending on the extent of the private sector’s interest in investing in them, and secondly provide sufficient funding for their implementation, thus contributing to the development of the region and creating job opportunities.”
He added: “Our meeting today in Jounieh, two days after the departure of His Holiness Pope Laon XIV from Lebanon, gives our meeting a special blessing, especially since His Holiness resided in this region. Also, the coincidence of our meeting with the celebrations of the United Arab Emirates of its National Day gives us a lot of inspiration to follow in the footsteps of a sister Arab country, which has become a model to be emulated and a source of pride for all Arabs, with its achievements that have impressed the world.”
He concluded by saying: “While we are proud of the achievements made in Batroun, and before that in Jbeil, Jounieh is able to catch up with them and achieve much more, especially with the Municipal Council headed by Professor Faysal Afram and includes a group of the city’s residents.”
He concluded: “We pray with all the Lebanese who prayed with His Holiness the Pope, for peace to prevail in our beloved homeland, Lebanon.”
A documentary film was also shown documenting the achievements made by the Municipal Council during a period of 180 days, that is, since it took over its municipal duties, as well as the future plans it is currently working on and the projects ready for development and investments, under the title “Achievements and Aspirations,” from preserving the environment, organizing sea cleaning campaigns, maintaining and preserving natural resources, opening public parks, and addressing the sewage crisis. As well as providing a free swimming pool for citizens, lighting streets in cooperation with generator owners, and closing violating shops and encroachments.
The municipality also worked to support sports, organize sports events, and sign agreements in this regard, and worked to revive tourism by completing the construction of all the corridors leading to the sea and illuminating them with German funding, and signing protocols, including with the Railway Authority to uncover the railway and remove encroachments, and also with the National Conservatory. As well as increasing the number of municipal police to carry out intensive patrols to reduce security chaos and encroachments.
At the end of the conference, Faysal presented former Minister Choucair with a commemorative shield in his name and in the name of the Municipal Council.
Before the press conference, Afram chaired a meeting held at the Municipality, with Minister Choucair, the Head of the Keserwan-Al Fatouh Traders Association, Consul Jacques Hakim, heads of economic and syndicate bodies, and members of the Municipal Council.
During the conference, he pointed out that “the meeting was very fruitful and several ideas were exchanged and we all became on the same page.” (National Agency)
