Suleiman Arrives in New York, Hotel Says Lebanese Delegation Smallest in Year
President Michel Suleiman and his accompanying delegation arrived in New York at 3:15pm Sunday (10:15pm Beirut time) to attend the 63rd U.N. General Assembly session.
Lebanon”s permanent representative to the U.N. Nawaf Salam welcomed Suleiman at John F. Kennedy international airport. Also present were members of the Lebanese mission there, the Lebanese ambassador in Washington Antoine Shedid and head of the Middle East Airlines in the U.S. Adib Kassis.
The president is accompanied by his wife Wafa, his political adviser and former MP Nazem al-Khoury, Foreign Minister Fawzi Salloukh, ambassador and adviser Naji Abi Assi, head of the presidential guards brigade Brig. Gen. Wadih Ghafari, presidential office chief Col. Wajih Rafeh and media official Adib Abi Akl.
Suleiman and his aides headed from the airport to the Waldorf Astoria hotel and put the final touch on his program and meetings planned with several heads of state and foreign ministers on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly session.
Lebanese delegation sources said that although Suleiman”s agenda is not yet complete, the president plans to meet with Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao, Qatari Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al Thani, Turkish President Abdullah Gul, Brazil”s head of state Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
Suleiman and the first lady will attend on Monday night a welcoming ceremony hosted by U.S. President George Bush at the Waldorf Astoria. They will also meet U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon ahead of the traditional dinner hosted by the world body”s secretary-general for all delegations.
The Lebanese delegation is occupying 20 rooms in the hotel, including the presidential suite where Suleiman is staying.
The hotel”s administration said that this year”s delegation was one of the smallest that stayed at the hotel over the past years.