Lebanon “is making superhuman efforts” in providing care for the 2 million refugees living in its territory, and in order for Lebanon to be able to continue these efforts, it needs immediate financial support, Péter Szijjártó said after he had talks with the Prime Minister, the Speaker of the House and the Foreign Minister of the Middle-East country.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade said that helping refugees – some 1.5 million Syrians and half a million Palestinians – is an extremely large burden on Lebanon’s budget; expenditures related to refugees accounted for 17 per cent of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) last year. It is evident that unless Lebanon receives significant financial support from the European Union very quickly, it will not be able to continue to provide for refugees in the future, Mr Szijjártó pointed out.
We have been hearing news since September that Syrians in increasingly large numbers are setting out from Lebanon by sea for Turkey, and from there Europe may be the next station for them; in other words, a new migration route is coming into being, the Minister stressed.
As he said, Hungary is therefore urging that the EU should “immediately” take over the financial burdens which result from the sustenance of immigrants and refugees also from Lebanon, in addition to Turkey, Jordan and Iraqi Kurdistan. “If we fail to do so, the pressure of immigration on Europe will become unbearable”, he warned. Following from this conclusion, Hungary seeks to be at the forefront of this effort, and will pay EUR 3 million into the MADAD Fund created by the European Union, thereby contributing to the efforts of Jordan and Lebanon, Mr Szijjártó remarked.
In answer to a question, the Minister said that Syrians do not live at large collection points in Lebanon but “in informal refugee camps” set up in the vicinity of towns and villages. They may work, and their children may even go to school, in contrast to the situation that may be observed in Turkey. There are enormous social tensions unfolding in Lebanon in consequence of the fact that unemployment has effectively doubled in the country in the last few years as Syrian refugees undertake the jobs previously done by the Lebanese for substantially lower pay. It amply demonstrates the refugee crisis that prevails in the country that there are more Syrian children in education today than Lebanese, Mr Szijjártó stressed. He added: Lebanon is consequently making enormous efforts also in the field of education, as part of the care they provide for refugees. At the same time, in the absence of these efforts, these young Syrians would be the best candidates for embracing extremist ideals.
The Minister further reiterated that Hungary is participating in the UN’s peacekeeping mission in Lebanon (UNIFIL) with 5 soldiers. The purpose of the mission is to maintain stability in Lebanon which – in Mr Szijjártó’s view – is key in the region, given that the Middle-East country is playing a prominent role in the protection of Christian communities and the fight against terrorism as well. The politician agreed with his Lebanese partners that peace must be restored in the neighbouring Syria by way of diplomatic talks within the shortest possible time because this is the only way to find a long-term solution to the refugee crisis.
The agenda of Mr Szijjártó’s talks in Lebanon also featured the issue of bilateral relations, in addition to immigration. As he said, due to the crisis which is afflicting the Middle-East, after an earlier period of prosperity, bilateral economic relations are declining.
He agreed with his negotiating partners that this trend should be reversed, and to this end, Eximbank has set up a credit facility worth USD 20 million in the interest of promoting Hungarian-Lebanese cooperation. He added that he also agreed with his negotiating partners in Lebanon to convene the founding meeting of an economic mixed committee and the third Hungarian-Arab Business Forum at the beginning of next year.
Mr Szijjártó will deliver a lecture together with his counterpart Gebran Bassil at one of the Catholic universities in Beirut during the course of the day.