French Minister of Transport, Jean-Baptiste Djebbari, on Thursday arrived at Rafic Hariri International Airport in Beirut, kicking off an official visit to Lebanon. Receiving him at the airport’s Salon of Honor were his Lebanese counterpart, Dr. Ali Hamieh, French Ambassador to Lebanon, Anne Grillo, and other senior officials.

The French Minister thanked Hamieh for his invitation, adding that the visit is a continuation of the discussions that Hamieh had held during his visit to France, especially with regard to the transport sector.

Djebbari expressed his country’s continuous support for Lebanon, stressing that “France was and will always be by Lebanon’s side.”

He then indicated that he supported Minister Hamieh’s project to advance the state, alongside the Lebanese government.

In turn, Minister Hamieh welcomed his French counterpart. “France has previously demonstrated, and is proving again today, its relentless support for Lebanon ‘in deed’ and not only ‘in words’,” Hamieh said.

“The outcome of my visit to France is starting to materialize today, especially with regard to the French donation of buses, which is part of the solution,” the Lebanese Transportation Minister said.

Hamieh went on to explain that the French support was not limited to buses. “The French state has expressed willingness to help establish a legal framework to regulate partnership between the public and private sectors, so that the state becomes the regulator and the private sector becomes the operator,” Hamieh added.

He went on to stress that activating Beirut Port benefited all of the Lebanese. “Today, a signature ceremony will take place between the management and investment committee of Beirut Port and CMA CGM, which will manage, operate, and maintain the container terminal that serves to increase revenues for the Lebanese state; this falls within the framework of the ministry’s policy in activating Lebanese facilities,” explained Hamieh.