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THE WHITE HOUSE

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release November 25, 1998

STATEMENT BY THE PRESS SECRETARY

Visit to Lebanon by the Secretary of Health and Human Services

The President announced today that he has asked Donna E. Shalala, Secretary of Health and Human Services, to visit Lebanon as his personal representative. She will be in Lebanon in early December.

Secretary Shalala, the highest ranking Arab-American ever to serve in the U.S. government, will be the first member of the Administration to visit Lebanon following the inauguration on November 24 of the newly-elected President, Emile Lahud. The Secretary's presence in Lebanon will underscore the importance the United States attaches to the U.S.-Lebanese partnership.

Secretary Shalala will meet with President Lahud and other senior Lebanese officials, both in the executive branch and in Parliament, and visit health facilities. She also will address the students and faculty at the American University of Beirut.

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