JEDDAH: Saudi Finance Minister Mohammed Al-Jadaan arrived in Beirut on Saturday to lead the Saudi delegation at an Arab economic summit. 

Lebanese Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri and Saudi Ambassador to Lebanon Walid bin Abdullah Bukhari and other embassy officials received the minister.

The meeting is the first economic and development summit to be held since 2013, and comes as Syria, Yemen and Libya remain gripped by violence and Iraq confronts a massive reconstruction challenge after its costly victory over Daesh.

Arab League Secretary General Ahmed Aboul-Gheit said nearly half of all refugees “come from our Arab world.”

Lebanon is home to some 1 million Syrian refugees, or a quarter of the country’s population.

Lebanese President Michel Aoun told the opening session that Lebanon is overwhelmed by the presence of Syrian and Palestinian refugees, who make about half the population of the tiny country, which is struggling with an economic crisis.