Social affairs minister tours Zahle, pitches economic inclusion plan to the chamber

Social Affairs Minister Haneen Sayed toured Zahle, pledging stronger support for vulnerable communities in the Bekaa, MTV Lebanon and Daily Beirut reported.

She began at Al-Azhar al-Bekaa, where she was received by the mufti of Zahle and Baalbek, Sheikh Ali al-Ghazawi, accompanied by MP Georges Okais, who initiated the visit. Talks focused on livelihood pressures and the need for closer cooperation between official and social institutions, Daily Beirut reported.

At the Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture, Sayed presented the ministry's new Economic Inclusion Programme, which she described as one of three pillars of its work alongside the Aman assistance programme and the social development centres. She asked the chamber to help identify labour market needs and match them with available workers, and outlined the ministry's measures on the Syrian labour file. Board members urged a balanced approach that keeps the workers Lebanon needs while enforcing Lebanese law.

Sayed then met Greek Catholic Archbishop Ibrahim Ibrahim, who called for more state attention to Zahle and Baalbek and pledged the Church's cooperation "free from any discrimination." Sayed said the recent war, the financial collapse and the Beirut port explosion had set the country back several steps.