On the evening of April 23 in Lebanon there took place a torchlight procession from the Shahzoyan center in Beirut to the St. Gregory the Illuminator's Cathedral in Antelias and a vigilant ceremony in memory of the victims of the Armenian Genocide, the Azdak newspaper reported.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lebanon Gebran Bassil, who participated in the action, stressed in his speech, that he wished to take part in the ceremony, since the Armenian and the Lebanese are children of the same history of present and future. He stressed, that he was impressed by his visit to Armenia in 2015 during the centennial of the Armenian Genocide.

The minister reminded, that in 1915 Lebanon was also subjected to mass pogroms and blockades, due to which many citizens were killed and some were forcibly deported. According to Bassil, the Lebanese and Armenians were subjected to massacres and violence because of their desire for freedom, but the struggle for freedom must continue despite persecutions. "We are united,  we have a common demand, we must have only one weapon in our hands: peace, freedom, tolerance for others," he said.

Many Armenians who survived Genocide in Turkey in the early 20th century found shelters in Lebanon and formed the most significant Armenian community of the Middle East there. In the Lebanese city of Antelias there is located the throne of the Cilician Catholicos of the Armenian Apostolic Church - the Cathedral of St. Gregory the Illuminator, where he was transferred from Cilicia in 1930 after the Armenian Genocide. The Lebanese Parliament recognized the Armenian Genocide on May 12, 2000.