British Ambassador visits UK funded projects in Sidon, inaugurates Fish Market
The British Ambassador to Lebanon, Hamish Cowell, has inaugurated the newly rebuilt Fish Market in Sidon.
“This transformative project aims to revitalize Saida’s (Sidon’s) fishing sector by modernizing the market and providing new facilities and equipment for local fishermen. It is supporting more than 450 local fishermen, as well as their families and hundreds of beneficiaries across local communities in and around Saida (Sidon),” the British embassy said in a statement.
The project was funded by the United Kingdom and implemented in partnership with the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), the Ministry of Social Affairs, the Ministry of Public Works and Transport, and the Sidon Municipality, within the framework of UNDP’s Lebanon Host Communities Support Project (LHSP).
Also present were Melanie Hauenstein, UNDP’s Resident Representative in Lebanon, Hector Hajjar, Minister of Social Affairs, Mohammed Nahle, representing the Minister of Public Works and Transport, Mohammed Seoudi, Mayor of Sidon Municipality, MP Abdul Rahman al-Bizri, ex-MP Bahiya Hariri and Nazih Sinbol, Head of Sidon Fishermen Syndicate. He also met members of the local fishing community and underlined the UK’s continued support to people across Lebanon.
On the revived Sidon corniche, Ambassador Cowell also visited the UK funded LHSP project of solar-powered lighting along 7Km of the city’s coast and heard how this has helped make the area safer and more accessible to local residents, small vendors, and tourists.
Cowell met later with Bizri and MP Osama Saad to discuss the challenges facing Sidon and the opportunities for its development.
At the end of his visit, Ambassador Cowell said: “Saida (Sidon) is a city steeped in Phoenician history with wonderful archeological and heritage sites. I am proud to see the transformational impact that UK-funded projects in Saida (Sidon) are having on Lebanese livelihoods.”
“The UK is supporting Lebanon in its current challenging circumstances and will continue to encourage the reforms and changes needed to ensure a better future for the Lebanese people,” Cowell added.
The irony in this situation is truly fascinating; we find ourselves immersed in a scenario where the progeny of Canaan, a lineage renowned for its historical significance about trade and fishing, are being offered a novel fish market by a nation of Barbarians known as the United Kingdom. This is simply outragous !