Beirut, August 10 (QNA) - Lebanese President Gen. Joseph Aoun discussed with Regional Director for the Middle East Department at the World Bank Dahlia Khalifa and her accompanying delegation avenues for strengthening cooperation and keeping up with Lebanon's exigent priorities in the upcoming phase on the occasion of her assuming her new duties, which cover Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Iraq and Iran.

Khalifa stressed that the Bank is committed to continuing its partnership with Lebanon and promptly responding to its pressing needs. She underlined her readiness to direct priorities within the existing programs toward the most affected areas.

For his part, Aoun underscored that his country is in need of support from the Bank and its partners at this stage, particularly to help respond to the needs of more than 600,000 citizens who have returned to their areas amid the large-scale damage inflicted on a large number of towns and villages, some of which suffered near-total devastation. (QNA)