BEIRUT, March 7 (Xinhua) -- A UN senior official on Wednesday called on the international community to provide more support to Lebanon to help it deal with the refugee issue.
The comment was made by United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Filippo Grandi, after his meeting with Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri in the evening, according to a statement by the media office of the prime minister.
"Unfortunately, the situation in Syria continues to be difficult, and we know that the overwhelming majority of Syrian refugees are in Lebanon," the statement quoted Grandi as saying.
He also referred to the upcoming conferences in Rome, Paris and Brussels as opportunities to "call on the international community, in particular the donor community, to support Lebanon."
Lebanon "has the highest number per capita of refugees in the world," the UN official noted.
Meanwhile, Mouin Merhebi, Lebanon's minister of refugee affairs who also attended the meeting between Hariri and Grandi, said Grandi's call is "very important to preserve the host communities."
