German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas gave a cheque for €1 million to the Lebanese Red Cross upon arrival in Beirut a week after a devastating blast there. He is set to call for political change in talks with the president.
German Foreign Minister Heiko Maastraveled to Beirut on Wednesday just eight days after a massive explosion in the citykilled more than 170 people and wounded thousands more.
Upon arrival at the airport, Maas handed over the first part of Germany's immediate aid package totalling €20 million ($23.5 million). The cheque for €1 million to the Lebanese Red Cross was intended to help families affected by the blast.
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"With the United Nations, we want to take our aid quickly to Beirut and give it directly to the people through experienced aid organizations," Maas said, saying that he would be talking with such organizations on the ground in Beirut.
Before boarding his flight to the Lebanese capital, Maas said he intended to use the visit "to gain an impression of the situation and the consequences of the explosion and convey our condolences and support to the victims and their families."
But he also said that "the country needs a strong new start and radical economic reforms," adding that Germany would actively support such a process.
The Lebanese government resigned on Monday amid mass protests at corruption and incompetence that have been further highlighted by last week's disaster. The country had already been seeing a wave of demonstrations amid a financial crisis.
An international donor conference on Sunday raised about €250 million in aid money that has been made contingent on political reforms in Lebanon, which remains riven by sectarian divisions 30 years after a civil war devastated the country.
The explosion last Tuesday was caused by large amounts of ammonium nitrate that had been stored for years in warehouses at the port. The conditions under which the highly explosive substance was kept point to crass negligence on the part of authorities.