NNA - President of the Republic, General Michel Aoun, expressed his sorrow and affection for the death of Cardinal Angelo Sodano, Honorary Secretary of the Vatican State, and Honorary Dean of the College of Cardinals.
President Aoun addressed Pope Francis, recalling the special status that the late Cardinal held for Lebanon and the Lebanese, who was the permanent defender of the sovereignty and independence of this country.
The President also recalled the efforts that the Late Cardinal made to accompany and make a success of the visit of Pope Saint John Paul II to Lebanon and his signature on the Apostolic Exhortation from the Country of the Cedars, after the Synod on Lebanon, as the 25th anniversary of this special event comes.
President Aoun also stressed that the memory of the late Cardinal "will constitute a strength for all of us to move forward and face the current challenges”.
MP Abi Khalil:
The President met MP Cesar Abi Khalil and lawyer Professor Maan Bou Saber, today at Baabda Palace.
The current situation and a number of issues, including the legal ways out of keeping the investigation into the crime of the Beirut port explosion frozen were tackled in the meeting.
Letters of Congratulations:
President Aoun received a cable of thanks from Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz for congratulating him on the blessed Eid al-Fitr.
The President also received more cables of congratulations on the success of the parliamentary elections that took place, including the telegram of the Emir of Kuwait, Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, which stated:
“I am pleased to express to Your Excellency my sincere congratulations on the success of the parliamentary election process in the brotherly Republic of Lebanon. With my best wishes to Your Excellency for continued good health, and for the Republic of Lebanon and its brotherly people all progress and prosperity, and for the distinguished relations between our two brotherly countries, all development and growth”.
Kuwaiti Prime Minister Sheikh Sabah Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah also sent a congratulatory telegram to the President.
President Aoun telegraphed to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, thanking him for the congratulations he addressed to him on the occasion of the Resistance and Liberation Day, wishing that Syria would emerge from the crisis it is going through with the establishment of a solution that restores hope for a better tomorrow and a promising future. -- Presidency Press office
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