Safadi urges U.S. to provide political, economic aid

BEIRUT: Finance Minister Mohammad Safadi has urged the U.S. administration to help Lebanon politically and economically and to provide the Lebanese Army with the equipment it needs in order to maintain stability in “this troubled phase in the Arab countries surrounding Lebanon.”

Safadi, who is currently in Washington, made the appeal during a lengthy meeting with Elizabeth Dibble, a key aide to U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Jeffrey Feltman, the state-run National News Agency reported Wednesday.

Feltman arrived in Beirut Wednesday for talks with Lebanese leaders. Safadi held talks with Dibble covering the important changes in Arab states, especially in Egypt and Syria, and their possible repercussions on the situation in Lebanon.

He told Dibble that the government has included in the 2012 budget important investment spending in the field of infrastructure, teaching and the social safety network. Dibble said that the U.S. administration is not planning to cut aid to Lebanon.

The spelling of Elizabeth Dibble's name was corrected.

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