Magro pledges continued support for Lebanon’s education sector
Minister of Education and Higher Learning Rima Karami received French Ambassador Hervé Magro on a farewell visit marking the end of his diplomatic mission in Lebanon. He was accompanied by the head of the French Cultural Center in Lebanon and the director of the French Development Agency (AFD).
The meeting focused on the Education Ministry’s needs and France’s support for its development plans in both general and higher education.
Karami thanked Magro for France’s longstanding support for Lebanon’s education sector, particularly its contribution of expertise and funding for the development and implementation of the country’s new curricula.
For his part, Magro congratulated Karami on the completion of the decree approving the new curricula and expressed France’s willingness to help Lebanon secure the funding needed to implement what he described as a historic reform.
The discussions also touched on the agreement reached between French President Emmanuel Macron and Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam to exempt Lebanese students in France from university registration fees. Magro clarified that the matter is an internal French administrative process involving the French Embassy in Lebanon and France’s Ministry of Education.
The ambassador said he had personally initiated the proposal, which was later endorsed by President Macron, in light of the difficult circumstances facing Lebanon.
He added that the French Embassy in Lebanon had received an official dispatch from France on Friday outlining the procedures Lebanese students must follow to benefit from the registration fee exemption.
A circular from the French Embassy detailing these procedures is expected to be issued soon.
