Amine Gemayel, leader of the Kataeb party

Amine Gemayel, leader of the Kataeb party, was elected vice president of the International Union of the Centre Democratic Parties in addition to being elected president of the Union’s Mideast region. The elections took place during the annual conference of the Union in the Italian Senate. The conference discussed hot issues in the region including the Arab Spring, the Syrian and Eurozone crises and women’s rights. Gemayel also held discussions with a number of political dignitaries including the Syrian National Council’s leader Abdel Basset Sayda and Kurdistan Regional Government leader Massoud Barzani (Iraq). The conference approved a paper presented by the Kataeb Party, which stressed Lebanon’s principles of sovereignty, including its “territorial integrity, commitment to international resolution regarding the Lebanese situation, highlighting Lebanon’s neutrality with regard to all armed conflicts in the region..… as well as maintaining relations between Lebanon and Syria based on the mutual respect of sovereignty.” Pier Ferdinando Casini, the former President of the Italian Parliament, was elected president of the Union for a second term.