Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati on Friday welcomed at the Grand Serail the Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Italian Deputy Prime Minister Antonio Tajani, who visited him in the company of Italian Ambassador to Lebanon, Nicoletta Bombardiere, and an accompanying delegation.

The meeting reportedly focused on bilateral relations between Lebanon and Italy on all levels, the situation in Lebanon, as well as the obstacles that have been preventing the election of a new Lebanese president.

For his part, Mikati praised the strong existing relations between Lebanon and Italy, the active Italian presence in support of Lebanon at all levels, the initiatives undertaken by Italy to assist the Lebanese army, in addition to the humanitarian aid it provides annually to Lebanon.

Mikati also stressed Italy's active role within the framework of the international forces operating in South Lebanon.

The Premier separately had an audience with Caretaker Minister of Interior and Municipalities, Judge Bassam Mawlawi, who visited him in the company of two Sidon MPs Osama Saad and Abdel Rahman al-Bizri, former MP Bahia Hariri, as well as Sidon Mayor, Mohammad al-Saudi.

In the wake of the meeting, which capitalized on Sidon’s alarming environmental conditions, Bizri said the city currently suffered from a trash collection crisis due to a problem with the contractor, adding that the meeting with Mikati stressed the need to find an expedited solution to this problem.