VIDEO: Lebanese FM embarrassed over chewing bubblegum during Arab League summit
Abdallah Bou Habib is seen chewing bubblegum as Najib Mikati delivers Lebanon's speech at Arab League summit.
The Lebanese Minister of Foreign Affairs and Emigrants, Abdallah Bou Habib, faced an embarrassing situation in front of the cameras, which ignited a wave of criticism on social media, during the Arab Summit in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
Photographers spotted the Lebanese minister chewing a "bubblegum" while Prime Minister Najib Mikati delivered Lebanon's speech at the summit.
The Lebanese ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Fawzi Kabbara, notified Bou Habib that the organisers were asking him to get rid of the bubblegum.
The minister appeared in front of the cameras and immediately spitted the gum into the waste bin.
It was only minutes until the social media platforms went viral with the video, which spread widely.
Lebanese activists criticised Bou Habib's behaviour, considering it inappropriate and contributing to distorting Lebanon's image among Arab countries.
However Mikati said in his speech, "The prolonged economic and political crisis in the country and the increasing number of displaced Syrians are greater than Lebanon's ability to bear."
The caretaker prime minister added during his speech, "It is a situation that cannot be achieved if Arab efforts are not concerted, with the support of the international community, and through communication and dialogue with Syria within the framework of an inclusive and stimulating Arab position through construction and revitalization projects for demolished areas to lay out a road map for the return of the Syrian brothers to their homeland and their homes.”
