Views: 6
Jordan FM in Beirut as Qatar invites Lebanon president to visi Doha.
Lebanon has seen widespread global support after the election of a president, with Qatar inviting new head of state Aoun for a visit.
Lebanon is expected to witness a flurry of diplomatic activity over the next two days, with Jordan’s top diplomat arriving in Beirut on Thursday and the UN chief and French president expected to arrive on Friday.
World leaders have expressed strong support for crisis-hit Lebanon after the election of President Joseph Aoun a week ago, which ended a two-year stalemate, and the appointment of former International Court of Justice judge Nawaf Salam to form a new cabinet.
Jordan’s Foreign Minister Ayman al-Safadi met with Lebanese leaders on Thursday, including Aoun at the Baabda Presidential Palace, where he said he believes the new Lebanese leadership will help the country regain its “shining role in the region” as an economic and cultural hub.
Safadi hoped Lebanon would soon begin reconstruction following the devastating Israeli-Hezbollah war last year which left swathes of southern Lebanon, Beirut’s southern suburbs and the Beqaa region in ruins, killing thousands of people. The minister stressed the importance of Israel committing to the ceasefire agreement with Lebanon reached on 27 November.
Under the agreement, Israel has until later this month to pull out its forces from southern Lebanon, while Hezbollah must move its forces north of the Litani River. The Lebanese military is to deploy heavily in the south, dismantling Hezbollah’s installations and confiscating all arms outside state control.
The Israeli army has continued to violate the terms of the deal, detonating homes in southern border communities and carrying out airstrikes along the border with Syria – it claims it is targeting Hezbollah personnel and militant infrastructure.
“We provided whatever support we could previously, and we will continue to do so, in cooperation with the international community, so that the [Lebanese] army can carry out its basic role” of implementing the ceasefire deal, Safadi said.
He also discussed plans to export electricity from Jordan to Lebanon to help the country with its chronic energy crisis, a plan that has been in the pipeline for a few years but never implemented due to US sanctions on Syria, from where the electricity would have to pass to reach Lebanon’s grid.
The Jordanian foreign minister also met Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri who said Lebanon was witnessing a new phase in its history, adding: “We also look forward to continuing interaction and strengthening relations between Lebanon and Jordan.”
Safadi also met outgoing premier Najib Mikati – who failed earlier this week to secure enough endorsements from MPs to become prime minister again – as well as incoming Prime Minister Salam, who spent a second day on Thursday consulting with parliamentary blocs to form a new cabinet. The Jordanian minister also met with his Lebanese counterpart Abdullah Bou Habib.
Qatar’s ambassador to Lebanon Sheikh Saud bin Abdulrahman Al Thani met with Aoun on Thursday, delivering an invite from Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani for the new president to visit Doha.
The envoy also “confirmed that Qatar will continue to support the Lebanese army in the year 2025, and we have always been the first to support Lebanon in all political, economic and military fields.”
The Gulf state has for years given financial support to the cash-strapped and underequipped Lebanese army, even helping with the salaries of personnel.
Doha has also long played a mediator role in Lebanese politics, being one of the five states which helped end the presidential crisis. In 2008, Qatar hosted a summit bringing together the leaders of Lebanon’s main sects to find a consensus that would end political deadlock, after a week of street battles between Hezbollah and supporters of the Future Movement.
Aoun is expected to visit Saudi Arabia on his first foreign visit after receiving an invitation from Riyadh too. He has also received invitations from Jordan, Spain and Greece.
Macron back in Beirut
France’s President Emmanuel Macron is expected to arrive in the Lebanese capital on Friday to congratulate Aoun on becoming president, making him the second head of state to visit Beirut since the 9 January vote after Cyprus’ Nikos Christodoulides.
It will be Macron’s first visit to Lebanon since 2020 when he visited twice following the massive and deadly Beirut Port explosion. Since then, the president of Lebanon’s former colonial power has repeatedly called on the Lebanese ruling elite to carry out deep-rooted reforms, but his calls have fallen on deaf ears.
France was also one of five key players trying to help Lebanon end the two-year presidential vacuum. Along with Washington and Riyadh, Paris is also believed to have exerted huge pressure on Lebanese politicians to finally elect a head of state.
The Elysee announced this week that Macron’s visit to Lebanon will be “to confirm France’s firm commitment to supporting Lebanon’s sovereignty and unity, and will congratulate President Aoun on his election, as well as diplomat Nawaf Salam on his assignment to form the government.”
Guterres to chair ceasefire committee meeting
Secretary-General of the United Nations Antonio Guterres will also be in Lebanon for a two-day visit starting Friday.
He will reportedly chair a meeting of a multinational committee overseeing the Lebanon-Israel ceasefire agreement, which will take place at the UN peacekeeping forces (UNIFIL) base in south Lebanon’s Naqoura.
The committee is headed by a US general and includes generals from France, Israel, Lebanon, and a UNIFIL representative.
The Friday meeting at the UNIFIL base “will bring developments regarding the withdrawal of the Israeli occupation forces and the deployment of the Lebanese army in the border towns,” wrote the local Al-Akhbar daily.
The meeting is expected to discuss the next phase of the Israeli army’s withdrawal from southern Lebanon after Israel announced earlier this month that its army had completely withdrawn from southern Lebanon’s western sector. Forces are yet to pull out of south Lebanon’s central and eastern sectors.