Dinner with German Delegation from North Rhine-Westphalia and FNF Partners

The German delegation from North Rhine-Westphalia visited Jordan and Lebanon this week to meet with local politicians and NGOs for further cooperation. The delegation joined us for a dinner with FNF Partners, Members of Parliament, and Journalists at the Villa Sursock in Achrafieh.

Representing FNF was Head of Regional Office MENA, Hubertus von Welck who warmly welcomed our guests.

Members of the German delegation included Serap Güler, Philip Wehrend, Stefan Schmidinger, and Sabine Reissberg from the Ministry for Children, Family, Refugees, and Integration in North Rhine-Westphalia. From the State Chancellery were Dr. Mark Speich, Eva Offele, and Wael El-Gayar, as well as Johannes Hermanns from the Interior Ministry.

Attending Members of the Lebanese Parliament were MP Fouad Makhzoumi and MP Michel Mouawad.

FNF Partners in attendance included Falko Walde, Ahmad Rachwani, Pierre Geara, Father Salim Daccache, Ayman Mehanna, Dr. Raymond Merhej, Gilbert Doumit, Gisele Khoury, and Naila Saba.

Also at the table were journalists Philip Abu Zeid and Alain Dergham.

Our guests used the opportunity for stimulating conversations on contemporary issues in German and Lebanese politics. Specifically, there was a great focus on Germany’s role in assisting Lebanon with overcoming its refugee crisis. On this matter, NRW State Secretary for Federal, European, and International Affairs Dr. Mark Speich, emphasized his willingness to establish sustainable solutions by creating “opportunities that are not just opportunities for the next few days or the next few years, but opportunities for the next decades.”

Pictures from the event may be found here.