Board of Members visit Geagea in Maarab

Lebanese Forces head Samir Geagea met with a delegation of the Maronite Foundation in the World’s Board of Directors. The delegation included the Foundation’s president Charles Hage, Vice President Rose Choueiry and members: Michel Abi Nader, Bernard Tannouri, Jacque Kallas, Hyam Boustani and Youssef Doueihy.

Hage said that the visit came in the context of introducing Geagea to the new members of the board. “We also showed the head of the Lebanese Forces our workplan for the coming three years, which will focus primarily on implementing the regaining citizenship law and registering births and marriages of the diaspora,” Hage said. He added that talks with Geagea also touched on the difficulties that the Foundation is facing in this mission and asked for the help of the Lebanese Forces to raise the issue with its supporters in the expat community.

Hage also spoke of the difficult situation that Lebanon is currently going through, especially the economic issues and unemployment which is increasing emigration. “We agreed to work together in an effort to put an end to this,” Hage said.
Hage announced that 17 new offices for the Foundation will be opened in the next three years as well as tens of new correspondents in countries of the Lebanese diaspora. “We hope that this will enable, in a future stage, to increase the number of expats willing to regain their Lebanese citizenship and to register their marriages and children,” Hage said. He explained that the difficult economic circumstances in Lebanon require a much-needed relationship with the Lebanese diaspora.

“We hope that the government will facilitate and expedite the administrative process for regaining citizenship,” Hage said.