NNA - Caretaker Minister of Foreign Affairs and Emigrants, Abdallah Bou Habib, took part on Sunday in the preparatory works for the 79th session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, where he held several bilateral meetings with his counterparts to discuss the latest developments in the region.

In this context, Minister Bou Habib met with the Iranian Foreign Minister, Abbas Araghchi, where both ministers agreed on "the importance of benefiting from the General Assembly meetings to mobilize the support of the international community to avoid a large-scale war in the region through a ceasefire in Gaza, and an immediate cessation of Israeli hostilities against Lebanon."

Bou Habib also met with Norwegian Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide, where "the two ministers expressed their deep concern about the rolling escalation, affirmed the need to return to a comprehensive ceasefire on all fronts, and address the causes of the conflict."

Minister Bou Habib also briefed Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, on the recent Security Council session on Lebanon and the positions of the Council's member states. The two sides agreed on the "importance of giving voices of moderation and reason a chance instead of leaving the arena to extremists, and highlighted the importance of a ceasefire in both Lebanon and Gaza." Discussions also touched on the general situation in Lebanon, underlining the need for "the immediate election of a president of the republic, given the negative impact of the presidential vacuum on the challenges facing Lebanon."

Bou Habib will be meeting with his Egyptian and Iraqi counterparts later this evening.

======R.Sh.