The Lebanese Prime Minister Sa'ad Al-Hariri said that choosing Saudi Arabia for his first visit abroad since the formation of the new Lebanese government was a reflection of his personal ties and the ties of the people of Lebanon to King Abdullah. “He has always stood by Lebanon and its causes,” Al-Hariri said of the King after meeting him on Saturday “The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques has always helped and supported all Lebanese people everywhere without discrimination, and the Kingdom has given unconditional support to Lebanon and never interfered in any of Lebanon's internal affairs,” he said. “King Abdullah and his government have stood by Lebanon in its most dire circumstances, and the King has been and will continue to be the greatest backer of Lebanon's Arab identity, its sovereignty and its independence,” he said. Al-Hariri added that King Abdullah was always at the “forefront of those defending Arab and Muslim causes”, notably the “Palestinian cause and the right of its people to form a Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital in accordance with the Arab Peace Initiative unanimously agreed upon by the Arabs since the summit in Beirut in 2002”. Al-Hariri also offered the support of Lebanon in the Kingdom's defense of its borders against Yemeni rebels as well as its solidarity with the people of Yemen against the “terrorist aggressors.” Of his meeting with King Abdullah, Al-Haririr said that he had reaffirmed Lebanon's willingness to meet the responsibility of bringing Arabs together in the face of regional dangers and rebuild Arab interests, noting that Arab identity had “always formed an impenetrable defense for Lebanon, its independence and its sovereignty”.
