NNA - President of the Republic Michel Sleiman, boarded the tragic drowning of Lebanese asylum seekers bound to Australia with House Speaker Nabih Berri and caretaker prime minister Najib Mikati at Baabda presidential palace today. Sleiman and interlocutors agreed to contact Indonesian officials over the retrieval of bodies and safe transfer of the survivors back to Lebanon. They also agreed over prosecuting all those found guilty of human trafficking and/or related extortion.



Chaldean patriarch of Babylon Louis Rafael Sako and visiting delegation members agreed with the president over the need to protect Oriental Christians so that the region continues to serve as a cultural melting pot opened for all.



A visiting delegation representing the Lebanese-Australian Chamber of Commerce briefed the president over efforts to explore the possibility of augmenting agricultural exports to Australia.



Lebanese ambassador to Riyadh Abdussatar Issa, discussed with the president ways to promote bilateral relations amid preparations for Sleiman's forthcoming state visit to the kingdom.


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