The Iranian Foreign Minister “Abbas Araqchi” is heading to Lebanon on Thursday and Friday for an official visit, accompanied by an economic delegation, with the aim of developing cooperation between the two countries and discussing political and economic issues, in light of the sensitive regional circumstances the region is going through.
The visit begins on Thursday, January 8, with the arrival of “Araqchi” at Rafik Hariri International Airport, where he will be received in the VIP lounge at 10:30 AM (tentative time).
At 3:00 PM, he will hold a meeting with the Deputy Head of the Supreme Islamic Shiite Council, Sheikh “Ali Al-Khatib,” at the Council’s headquarters in Hazmieh, followed by a meeting with the Minister of Economy and Trade, “Amer Al-Bisat,” at the ministry’s headquarters in Azaria at 4:00 PM.
“Araqchi” will continue his official meetings on Friday, January 9, with a meeting with the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Emigrants, “Youssef Rajji,” at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs headquarters at 8:45 AM, then he will meet with the President of the Republic, “Joseph Aoun,” at Baabda Palace at 10:00 AM.
He will also meet with the Mufti of the Lebanese Republic, “Abdul Latif Daryan,” at Dar Al-Fatwa at 12:30 PM, then with the Speaker of Parliament, “Nabih Berri,” in Ain El-Tineh at 1:15 PM, and with the Prime Minister, “Nawaf Salam,” at the Grand Serail at 3:00 PM. The visit concludes with participation in a dialogue seminar and book signing at the Crown Plaza Hotel – Hamra at 6:00 PM.
In a related context, “Araqchi” stated that his visit to Beirut comes within the framework of strengthening relations and cooperation with Lebanon, especially in the economic field, given the current regional challenges. He stressed that Tehran is looking forward to expanding bilateral cooperation, noting that the delegation accompanying him includes officials concerned with economic affairs.
In another context, the Iranian Foreign Minister affirmed that the current time is not suitable for negotiations, attributing this to the American policies which, according to him, “do not create a climate conducive to any effective negotiation path.” He added that Iran has never refused to sit at the negotiating table and is always ready to do so, but the problem lies in the fact that the American side does not follow a fair approach, which hinders achieving any real progress.
“Araqchi’s” visit to Beirut comes in light of political developments and increasing international pressure in the region, with expectations that the meetings will focus on ways of economic and investment cooperation, in addition to political issues of common interest.
