Lebanese Info. Min. Praises Kuwait's Support For His Country

(MENAFN- Kuwait News Agency (KUNA)) Interview by Fawaz Al-Otaibi
BEIRUT, Nov 22 (KUNA) -- Lebanese Caretaker Minister of Information Ziad Al-Makari praised on Friday Kuwait's support for his country in confronting the destruction caused by the Israeli occupation aggression.
In an interview to KUNA, Al-Makari expressed his thanks and appreciation to Kuwait, its government and people for always standing by Lebanon and the Lebanese people.
He added that Kuwait has never hesitated to support Lebanon since the start of the Israeli occupation aggression on September 23, which resulted in significant human and material losses, in addition to the displacement of hundreds of thousands of residents.
He praised the efforts of Kuwait in launching the relief air bridge in order to limit the deterioration of the humanitarian conditions of those affected and displaced in Lebanon.
Al-Makari stressed that Lebanon has a historical relations with Kuwait, expressing his country's keenness to protect, develop and grow the special relations.
He pointed out that the Ministry of Information is working with the Minister of Justice to draft a legal text that allows Lebanon to file complaints against the Israeli occupation's war crimes on civilians and journalists.
The minister will make an official visit to Paris this month to visit an organization affiliated with UNESCO (IPDC) in an effort to approve an item related to protecting journalists from attacks in war zones and conflicts.
He said that the Ministry of Information, through the Lebanese government, has filed several complaints with the United Nations and the UN Security Council against the targeting of journalists, in addition to other organizations concerned with human rights and journalists around the world.
He added that the number of foreign journalists in Lebanon has reached more than 1,600 since the beginning of the start of the Israeli occupation war on the country, explaining that the number would indicate the global interest in Lebanon's developments.
He stressed that Lebanon protects freedom of expression for the Lebanese, Arabs and foreigners, calling for the presence of media professionals in Lebanon in order to convey the true picture to the world.
The ministry has trained a team specialized in detecting fake news in cooperation with UNESCO and Agence France-Presse, Al-Makari said, pointing to the new platform (Fact Check Lebanon) which will soon be launched to verify news an rumors.
He added that the platform would be linked with the Lebanese National News Agency (NNA), stressing that NNA is the official source of correct news that all local and foreign media outlets and diplomatic missions rely on to receive news.
He said that the local media is committed to the country's position regarding stopping the war, implementing UN Resolution 1701 and dialogue between the Lebanese parties in order to elect a president for the country.
The Lebanese minister pointed out the strong relations and coordination between the Ministry of Information and the Lebanese media institutions. (end)
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