BEIRUT, Aug. 8 (Xinhua) -- A UN official on Thursday urged the Lebanese government to solve economic and social problems to prevent the youths from emigrating.
"The Lebanese youths constitute an essential part of this society and it is the government's responsibility to solve economic issues and create job opportunities for young people," Philippe Lazzarini, the UN resident and humanitarian coordinator for Lebanon, was quoted as saying by Elnashra, an online independent newspaper.
Lazzarini's remarks came during an event held on the annual occasion of the International Youth Day at the Beirut headquarters of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia.
"The government should exert much efforts to prevent young people from emigrating," he said.
Meanwhile, Violette Khairallah Safadi, Lebanese minister of state for economic empowerment of women and youth, said the country's current complicated situation is heavily impacting the youths' opportunity of achieving their dreams.
"The only goal of these people today is to emigrate to chase their dreams," she said.
Around 4,700 young men and women have immigrated from Lebanon on a monthly basis since the beginning of 2019, according to a report published by the end of May by Lebanese television station LBCI.
According to the report, the first three months of 2019, from Jan. 15 to April 15, witnessed the immigration of 14,300 Lebanese citizens compared to 9,700 for the same period in 2018.
