BEIRUT: Maronite Patriarch Beshara Rai congratulated former Prime Minister Saad Hariri on his return to Beirut, saying Lebanon “needs you,” local daily Al-Mustaqbal said Friday.
“I always tell him [Hariri] that we need him to be with us in Lebanon and to stay in Lebanon,” Rai said of Hariri, who returned to Beirut last week to lead the commemoration of the 10th anniversary of the assassination of his father, former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.
The newspaper, which is tied to Hariri's Future Movement, said Rai's remarks were made upon his arrival at the Beirut airport Thursday after an official visit to Rome.