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BEIRUT, March 20 (Xinhua) -- Lebanon's Prime Minister Saad Hariri stressed on Monday that Lebanon "developed a strategy to deal with the Syrian crisis's severe repercussions."
Hariri added "the strategy also aims to reposition Lebanon back on a sustainable stabilization and development path."
According to a statement by the PM's media office, Hariri was speaking during a high-level steering committee meeting he chaired addressing the crisis of displaced Syrians in Lebanon.
The steering committee was formed following last year's London conference, and includes Lebanon and representatives from countries which participated in the conference, United Nations organizations and the World Bank.
Hariri said "the Lebanese government's policies regarding displaced Syrians, which we hope to unveil at the conference, are being finalized. Last week, the inter-ministerial committee took part in a progressive discussion of the Lebanese government policy draft, which we hope to finalize in the coming weeks."
He added "Lebanon is going through extremely difficult times requiring exceptional measures. As a result of the crisis, our growth rates have sharply declined, unemployment and poverty rates have increased to unprecedented levels, our public services are overstretched, our infrastructure is depleted, our situation has deteriorated and needless to say, our debt and deficits ratios have increased."
He expressed hope "to see a peaceful political solution to the Syrian conflict in the very near future. We would also like to see the reconstruction of Syria taking place."
