Samar Yahya Saudi Gazette JEDDAH — Lebanese Consul General Ziad Atallah hosted a reception on Wednesday night to welcome Lebanese Ambassador Abdel Sattar Issa in his first visit to the Jeddah-based consulate since he started his tenure in the Kingdom less than two months ago. Atallah and wife Zina received guests at the consul general's residence including Lebanese businessmen, Lebanese business council members, Saudi businessmen and consuls general of Arab and non-Arab countries. The reception began with the Lebanese national anthem followed by speeches from Atallah and Issa. Atallah said: “Since I arrived in Jeddah nine months ago and with the support of the Lebanese community here I accomplished great steps and hosted official, cultural and social events in the consulate, which couldn't be achieved without the support of the Lebanese community, which is very active and respects the consulate.” One of the great achievements, he said, was the ongoing work on a new building in Jeddah's Basatin area that will host the new consulate chancery, the consul general's residence and a Lebanese club that will be a base for all events and gatherings and can host up to 1,000 guests at a time. He also praised the long and established Saudi-Lebanese bilateral relations. Issa thanked all the guests for the warm welcome he has received since he arrived in Jeddah and said: “Since I arrived in the Kingdom I was received with very warm welcomes, which reflect the strong relations between the two countries and which is also reflected in the hard work and efforts of the Lebanese community in the Kingdom.” Issa expressed his appreciation to both Saudis and Lebanese for the long-lasting relations between the two countries.
