Prime Minister On The Way To Lebanon

Prime Minister Sigmundur Davíð Gunnlaugsson is on his way to Lebanon, to assess refugee conditions and meet with related officials.

RÚV reports that, upon arrival, he will meet with Lebanese Prime Minister Tammam Salam and various charity groups. He will also inspect the conditions in which these refugees live. The tiny coastal nation currently shelters over 1.1 million refugees, most of them from Syria, comprising about a fourth of the population.

Sigmundur will assess the conditions these refugees contend with, and hear from charity groups working there how best Iceland and other western countries can help.

On Wedensday, the Prime Minister will travel to London for a conference on Syria. Amongst other topics, attendees at the conference will discuss how to provide support for displaced Syrians within the country.

The visit has been in the works for some time now, as the Prime Minister has wanted to see for himself what kinds of conditions refugees in Lebanon live in. The Syrian refugees who recently arrived in Iceland were previously living in refugees camps in Lebanon.