Monaco has sent a special delegation to Lebanon to discuss partnerships in health, education and socio-economic integration of the most vulnerable populations. It is also aiming to increase its support of Lebanon’s refugee efforts.
The delegation, led by Director General of the Department of External Relations and Cooperation Isabelle Rosabrunetto, was also an opportunity to strengthen the ties of friendship between the two States during an interview at the Lebanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Held from 18th to 22nd June, it followed a visit by Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation Gilles Tonelli just over a year earlier.
At the invitation of Fondation Mérieux, the Lebanese NGO Amel and the Municipality of Douris, Ms. Rosabrunetto participated in the official inauguration of a mother and child health centre in Douris, alongside the Lebanese Minister of Health, Dr. Jamil Jabak. In April 2018, Gilles Tonelli participated in the official ceremony of laying the foundation stone of this same centre.
“The book we are celebrating is a perfect illustration of the importance you attach to – and give – the health and well-being of the people of this often-felt region of Lebanon,” said Ms. Rosabrunetto. “I am thinking in particular of children this year as we celebrate the 13th anniversary of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. It is to them that we must provide the best protection to guarantee their future.”
After meeting with Claudio Cordone, Director of UNRWA in Lebanon, Ms. Rosabrunetto went to the Bourj el-Barajneh camp in Beirut, where she visited a health centre and learned about the daily challenges of Palestinian refugees, including access to care.
As part of the first area of intervention of the Monegasque Cooperation in Lebanon, the delegation went to Kefraya, Bekaa, to attend the care operations of the mobile medical unit of the Order of Malta Lebanon (ALCM ) in an informal Syrian camp. The trip ended with a moment of sharing between the elderly people of the ALCM day centre, which has been supported by the Prince’s Government for more than three years.
The bilateral cooperation between the two countries was initiated in 1993, with Monaco’s investment of more than six million euros in Lebanon in response to socio-economic issues. According to the government, the Principality aims to intensify its support for Lebanon with regards to the current Syrian crisis, considering that Lebanon has the highest number of refugees per capita: one refugee for every three Lebanese.
Sheikh Bechara K. El Khoury acts as the Principality’s Consul in Lebanon.
The Monegasque delegation was composed of: Isabelle Rosabrunetto, Director General of the Department of External Relations and Cooperation, Elodie Martin, Lebanon Program Manager at the Directorate of International Cooperation and Joseph Hayek, Honorary Consulate of Monaco in Lebanon.