BEIRUT: French President Emmanuel Macron’s office says an international conference on Sunday is aimed at bringing donors together to provide emergency aid and equipment to the Lebanese population.
Co-hosted by Macron and U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, the video conference will see the participation of U.S. President Donald Trump, Britain Prime Minister Boris Johnson, Jordan King Abdullah II, Egypt President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi and other leaders from Russia, China and the European Union.
The money collected will be used to send emergency medical aid, equipment to help clear streets and rebuild schools and hospitals as well as to provide food for the civilian population, Macron’s office said.
Macron, who was the first foreign leader to visit Beirut in the wake of the devastating explosion, promised the aid would not go into “corrupt hands” but to non-governmental organizatoins and the civilian population.
France is Lebanon’s former colonial power.