Tarek Zeidan, executive director of Lebanese LGBT+ rights group Helem, said it is positive that LGBT+ issues in the Arab world were being talked about at big event but he does not believe a Westerner should be leading the conversation. “It is a very gray area – my gut feeling is that if you are going to Egypt on a global stage and do not mention human rights abuses then you are complicit,” he told the Thomson Reuters Foundation by phone. “But, do I like the fact that we have to rely on a European politician to speak on our behalf … agency is important.” Zeidan said it is difficult to categorize Bettel’s comments as “good or bad,” but he did not believe the prime minister’s remarks will cause “extra harm” for the LGBT+ community in Egypt and the Arab world.