NNA – Deputy House Speaker Elias Bou Saab concluded his visit to Washington by meeting with Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs, Barbara Leaf, and Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs, Ethan Goldrich, and Director of the Middle East Office Stephen Butler, where they discussed the upcoming events especially "the need to elect a President of the Republic to reconfigure power as soon as possible."

Bou Saab, alongside the accompanying MPs  Neemat Frem, Yassin Yassin and Mark Daou, and Lebanon’s Chargé d’Affairs in Washington Wael Hashem, explained the repercussions of the displacement crisis on Lebanon and the great risk of a further worsening situation due to the international community's lack of interest in finding a quick and just solution for their return.

On another note, Bou Saab met yesterday afternoon with Deputy Assistant Secretary of the US Treasury Eric Meyer, the Director of the Middle East and North Africa Office, Anthony Marcus, and the Director of the Middle East Office for Financial Crimes and Terrorist Financing, Jamie Crote.

Bou Saab considered the encounter as one of the very important meetings concluding his visit to Washington, noting that "discussions touched on the need for the road map to include the recovery plan and the fight against corruption, far-reaching the banking sector.”

Bou Saab stressed "the need for the restructuring of banks to address this issue."

He also relayed the cry of the Lebanese citizens as a result of the prevailing crisis, particularly in wake of the exchange rate that is being administered by Lebanon’s Central Bank without clarity on the fluctuating rates while the citizens are the actual ones paying the price.

Bou Saab concluded by revealing that what he heard during his meetings affirms that "the Lebanese are able to complete the reform process until the end."

=======R.Sh.