United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has expressed the UN’s willing to support Lebanon if it implemented much needed reforms. “The international community is ready to help Lebanon in the event that the desired reforms are realized,” Guterres told Lebanese Foreign Minister Nassif Hitti, a ministry statement said Friday. In a telephone conversation, Hitti updated the UN chief on the situation in Lebanon and the region, and on the operations of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL). Also Friday, Prime Minister Hassan Diab met with French Ambassador Bruno Foucher at the Grand Serail in Beirut. Discussions focused on bilateral relations, the state-run National News Agency reported. Foucher assured Diab that “France will stand by Lebanon and support it,” NNA said. Foucher also confirmed France’s willingness to back Lebanon’s government with reforms needed to unlock over $11 billion in grants and soft loans pledged by international donors during the CEDRE conference held in Paris in 2018.