Bolsonaro Announces Aid to Lebanon, Invites ex-President Temer to Coordinate Mission
RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – President Jair Bolsonaro announced on Sunday morning, August 9th, the Brazilian government’s aid to Lebanon. Last week, the capital Beirut was rocked by an explosion that left hundreds dead and thousands injured.
Bolsonaro took part in a videoconference with other heads of state and government to discuss actions to assist Lebanon. The meeting was broadcast on Bolsonaro’s social media. He invited ex-president Michel Temer, who is of Lebanese descent, to coordinate the mission.
“In the next few days, a Brazilian Air Force aircraft, with medicines and basic health supplies, will depart from Brazil, heading for Lebanon. We are also preparing to send 4,000 tons of rice by sea to mitigate the consequences of the losses of grain stock destroyed in the explosion.
“We are arranging with the Lebanese government to send a multidisciplinary technical team to assist in the investigation of the explosion. I invited as my special envoy and head of this mission Mr. Michel Temer, son of Lebanese parents and ex-President of Brazil,” said Bolsonaro.
President Bolsonaro expressed his condolences to the victims’ families, the injured and the homeless, as well as recalling the history of the Lebanese community in Brazil: “Brazil is home to the largest Lebanese diaspora in the world. Ten million Brazilians of Lebanese descent from a working, dynamic, and inclusive community, which invaluably contributes to our country,” said the President.
The virtual meeting was an initiative of French President Emmanuel Macron and was attended by US President Donald Trump, Lebanon’s President Michel Aoun, and leaders of countries such as Egypt, Qatar, and Jordan.
The explosion occurred on August 4th following a warehouse fire in the port of Beirut, with 2,750 tons of ammonium nitrate, devastating whole neighborhoods. According to Lebanese Prime Minister Hassan Diab, the ammonium nitrate had been on the scene for at least six years “with no precautionary measures”. Last Friday, August 7th, Michel Aoun said an investigation will be opened to determine the causes of this tragedy.
In a statement, Temer’s press office said: “Ex-President Michel Temer is honored by President Jair Bolsonaro’s invitation to head Brazil’s humanitarian mission to Lebanon. Once the decision is published in the Federal Gazette, the required steps will be taken to execute the task.”
Source: Veja
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