Amshit's Parish celebrated the lighting of its Christmas tree and the expansion of The Lady Church's courtyard, with the support, funding and attendance of the Ambassador of the United Arab Emirates, Hamad bin Saeed Al Shamsi.

The ceremony was attended by former President Michel Sleiman, former Minister Nazem Al-Khoury, and ranking dignitaries.

Shamsi spoke about "what the UAE has achieved since its inception, where it established a Ministry of Tolerance and approved the law of religions," and "believes in coexistence, with the existence of a mosque, a church and a temple on its land."

"We have firm conviction that all religions are complementary to one another. What concerns our State is neither a person's religion, nor their color but them as human beings," he said, pointing out that "the UAE passport ranks first in the world." "This is proof that the country is proceeding with its wise leadership in steady steps and continuous progress." 

He pointed out that "Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed issued a decision that the number of parliamentarians in the UAE next elections shall be equally divided between men and women."

"The UAE has ranked first in the world in humanitarian and developmental assistance for the fifth year in a row, and this is proof that we do not differentiate between anyone," he said, adding that "the Vatican's announcement of the Pope's visit to the Emirates next February means a lot to us because the UAE is State of peace." 

"The Lebanese Diaspora in the UAE exceeds 140,000 people, and it has done so much for the UAE, representing Lebanon in the best way possible. We classify it as a top Diaspora," Shamsi assured.

"The UAE policy in Lebanon is a policy of openness to everyone, especially the moderates. We support legitimate institutions and we are trying to carry out humanitarian and developmental projects across all Lebanese territory and for the sake of all communities," he said. 

Al-Shamsi had met earlier with member of the Strong Republic, MP Ziad Hawat, and discussed with him bilateral relations and the general situation in Lebanon and the region.