Caretaker Minister of Economy and Trade, Amin Salam, held a press conference this afternoon to clarify his recent statement on the construction of wheat silos, which he considered the state of Kuwait could do with a “stroke of a pen’, whereby Salam explained that what he was actually implying by using this ‘normal Lebanese language colloquial phrase’ was that building the silos could be speedily implemented. Responding to the Kuwaiti Foreign Minister’s request that Salam withdraws his statement, the Economy Minister affirmed that his use of this phrase ‘was not intended to transgress the principles and constitutional and legal mechanisms in force by the State of Kuwait or by Lebanon.’ Salam hoped that the Kuwaiti parliament would accept this clarification, saying, ‘I had a clear conscience in my request because I appealed to a brotherly country that has always stood by Lebanon, and I am aware of the risks to food security, especially since the World Bank has classified Lebanon as the most dangerous in terms of food security challenges because it does not have a strategic stockpile.’ “We are the most knowledgeable and keen on the constitutional and institutional work that Kuwait is doing,’ he said. Salam went on to clarify that following the explosion that occurred on August 4, the official spokesman for the State of Kuwait confirmed that his country is committed to rebuilding the silos in Lebanon. He added: “This solemn commitment was issued in three languages, Arabic, English and French, and was published in more than 120 media outlets, and since that time we have been calling for the rebuilding of the silos, and I, in turn, revived this demand during the August 4th commemoration because we were asked about this matter and the fate of the Kuwaiti donation.” Salam assured that his press conference today comes within Lebanon’s keen concern on its historical relations and brotherhood ties with the sisterly State of Kuwait, and in order to avoid any misunderstanding regarding the recent statements he made related to the issue of rebuilding the wheat silos at Beirut’s port.
Source: National News Agency – Lebanon