Caretaker Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib (center), US Ambassador Dorothy Shea, French Ambassador Anne Grillo, Egyptian Ambassador Yasser Alawi, Qatari Ambassador Ibrahim Abdul Aziz Al-Sahlawi and Deputy Ambassador of Saudi Arabia to Lebanon Fares al-Amoudi. (Courtesy of: Hoda Chedid)
BEIRUT — During a meeting with caretaker Foreign Affairs Minister Abdallah Bou Habib Wednesday, foreign ambassadors called on Lebanon's government to pass immediate reforms and elect a new president, according to a statement from Bou Habib's press office.
US Ambassador Dorothy Shea, French Ambassador Anne Grillo, Egyptian Ambassador Yasser Alawi, Qatari Ambassador Ibrahim Abdul Aziz al-Sahlawi and Deputy Ambassador of Saudi Arabia to Lebanon Fares al-Amoudi, briefed Bou Habib on the summary of their meeting earlier this month in Paris and stressed the need to “quickly hold the election of a president for the republic,” the statement said.
The ambassadors also called on Lebanon to start “carrying out the necessary economic and financial reforms, bearing in mind that the five countries will keep their meetings open to follow up on developments.”
Lebanon has been without a president since Michel Aoun's mandate expired in October. The cabinet has lacked full powers and has been serving in a caretaker capacity since May 2022 legislative elections, as Lebanon's downward economic spiral surpasses its three-year mark.
The ambassadors also met parliament speaker Nabih Berri and caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati on Monday.
Western and regional powers had warned that they would reconsider "all ties" with Lebanon if Parliament fails to elect a president amid a worsening financial crisis, Mikati's office said after Monday's meeting.
"Real support" for Lebanon will only come after a president is elected and after reforms needed to access billions of dollars in loans from international lenders are enacted, a joint statement from the five countries said.
During a meeting in Paris last week, the participants discussed the election of Lebanon's next president, the future president's program, the ideal candidate profile, their political line and their economic and financial roadmap.
An Arab diplomat who attended the Paris meeting told L’Orient Today last week that "the participants agreed that the Lebanese crisis will not be resolved by simply electing the future president.”
Others told L’Orient Today that “the first [Paris] meeting was considered positive by several diplomatic sources concerned, especially since the five countries agreed on the main lines, in particular respect for the constitution, the Taif Agreement and international resolutions."
The Paris meeting represented a “roadmap for Lebanon to break the deadlock and be able to benefit from international aid," a Western diplomat told L'Orient Today. "The ball is therefore in the court of the Lebanese, knowing that France will be active in informing those responsible for the results of the discussions."
"If positive results are recorded, these countries will be able to meet again or bring together Lebanese protagonists around a table, in Beirut or in another capital, to finalize the agreement,” the diplomatic source said.