Lebanon Pins High Hopes On President's Visit To Moscow - Foreign Trade Minister

Lebanon expects that President Michel Aoun's visit to Russia, which is due to start later on Monday, to be of great importance for Beirut both in economic and political terms, as the issue of Syrian refugees' repatriation will be one of talking points, Lebanese Minister of State for Foreign Trade Hassan Mrad told Sputnik

BEIRUT (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 25th March, 2019) Lebanon expects that President Michel Aoun's visit to Russia, which is due to start later on Monday, to be of great importance for Beirut both in economic and political terms, as the issue of Syrian refugees' repatriation will be one of talking points, Lebanese Minister of State for Foreign Trade Hassan Mrad told Sputnik.

Aoun is set to embark on his two-day visit to Moscow later in the day, during which he is expected to hold talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin. The two leaders will discuss bilateral cooperation and exchange views on regional and international issues.

"Lebanese-Russian trade has been gradually growing year-on-year. But the volume is still small. It is measured in millions of Dollars, despite the increase in volumes. Lebanon remains a little disadvantaged in these economic relations. Russia exports goods worth $570 million, while imports $6-7 million [worth of goods]. Now we very much count on President Aoun's visit and his meeting with President Vladimir Putin," Mrad said.

The minister referred to Russia's role in the exploration and extraction of oil on the Lebanese shelf and described bilateral economic relations as strategic. He stressed the need for removing any obstacles to broader cooperation.

Mrad noted that Beirut similarly had many expectations from the visit in political terms.

"Especially, with regard to the issue of Syrian refugees. [It is important] in the sense that the solution to this problem will benefit Lebanon as refugees have become a great burden for us," he added.

Lebanon, a country with a population of 4 million, has hosted some 950,000 Syrian refugees, according to the United Nations. Other sources have suggested that the number of Syrian refugees could be as high as 1.5 million.

The Lebanese authorities have said the influx of refugees significantly affects the country's economy and security, and has supported Russia's initiatives to facilitate the return of refugees to Syria.