Hariri sees parallels between challenges in Lebanon and Iraq
Parliamentary majority leader MP Saad Hariri said on Tuesday that Lebanon and Iraq suffered "from almost the same problems" and faced similar challenges. "Lebanon and Iraq suffer from sectarian divisions rather than political ones," Hariri told Future News television in an interview to assess his recent visit to Iraq, two weeks ago.
He said Lebanon and Iraq "are subject to restless attempts to jeopardize Arab unity."
"These attempts are of a political rather than sectarian nature but use the religious factor to expedite the rift among Arabs," he added.
"However," Hariri told the news channel, "the Iraqis and the Lebanese have come to the conclusion that it is vital to preserve and consolidate national rather than sectarian interests."
"People in our two countries have come to the conclusion that the well-being and prosperity of Lebanon and Iraq should come first," he added.
Hariri met Iraqi Premier Nuri al-Maliki in Baghdad, where he praised recent security gains in Iraq, the Iraqi government said in a statement.
Aswat al-Iraq news agency reported that Maliki congratulated Hariri on the formation of a government of national unity in Beirut in which Sunnis and Shiites, including members of Shiite movements Hizbullah and Amal are represented.
Iraq and Lebanon face similar sectarian tensions between Sunni and Shiite Muslims.
Few senior Lebanese officials have visited Iraq since the US-led invasion in 2003.
Hariri, son of Lebanon”s assassinated former Premier Rafik Hariri, is the Sunni Muslim leader of the country”s majority parliamentary coalition and the head of the Future Movement.
He also heads a multi-billion-dollar business empire, and his visit coincides with an Iraqi push for more foreign investment to help rebuild the country and provide jobs.
During the visit, Hariri also met with Iraq”s Shiite Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Sistani in the holy city of Najaf.
"Lebanon and Iraq are both Arab countries and Sunnis and Shiites in both countries are first and foremost Arab," Hariri said after the visit, adding: "Our countries should not be arenas for Sunni-Shiite strife."
"It is really inconceivable that I visit Iraq without visiting the holy city of Najaf; my visit won”t be otherwise complete," Hariri told Future News Tuesday.
Najaf, 160 kilometers south of Baghdad is one of the holiest cities of Shiite Islam and the center of Shiite political power in Iraq. It is a major pilgrimage destination, since it is the site of the tomb of the founder of Shiite Islam Imam Ali Bin Abi Taleb.
"Najaf is a respected and revered political and religious authority," Hariri added.
During the interview Hariri also warned against "foreign powers who work on stirring tensions among Sunnis and Shiites in the Arab world."
He said Lebanese and Iraqis "should put an end to any interference in their internal issues."
"Sunni-Shiite unity in Lebanon and Iraq will immunize both our countries against vicious attempts to instigate strife and obstruct any form of foreign interference in our domestic affairs," he added.