European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides met Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati at the governmental palace in downtown Beirut on Thursday.
Army chief Joseph Aoun and Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib were also present in the meeting.
Christodoulides and von der Leyen planned later to meet Parliamentary Speaker Nabih Berri, a close ally of the pro-Iranian Hezbollah movement.
The Cypriot president had visited Lebanon on April 8 accompanied by his country's interior and foreign ministers and army chief, shortly after he urged the EU to intervene with Lebanese authorities to help stop boatloads of Syrian refugees from heading to Cyprus from Lebanon.
Lebanon, which has been coping with a crippling economic crisis since 2019 — hosts some 805,000 UN-registered Syrian refugees, of which 90% live in poverty, according to the UN’s refugee agency UNHCR. Lebanese officials estimate say that the actual number is far higher, ranging between 1.5 and 2 million.
"Our primary concern remains with those most vulnerable, who need protection. It is our duty as UNHCR to ensure their safety and dignity, while we strive for durable solutions, including resettlement to third countries," UNHCR spokeswoman Lisa Abu Khaled told dpa.
She added that the findings of the 2023 Vulnerability Assessment of Syrian Refugees in Lebanon (VaSyR) indicate that the vast majority of Syrian refugee households still face high levels of vulnerability to a wide array of shocks. "Nine out of 10 Syrian refugees are still in need of assistance to meet their most basic needs," Abu Khaled said.
