BEIRUT — Lebanese President Joseph Aoun expressed hope on Monday following the appointment of Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, that the appointment of the new Lebanese government would proceed as smoothly and quickly as that of Salam, which was completed following one day of binding parliamentary consultations, called for on Friday.

“We have completed the first step; the second is the formation of the government, and I hope it will happen as easily as the first and quickly, because frankly, great opportunities await us abroad,” Aoun told journalists still present at the presidential palace in Baabda after the consultations.

“They are waiting for us,” he added, indicating he had just spoken to Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. The head of state did not respond to other questions. When asked about his opinion on the identity of the new prime minister, he simply stated that Salam had been chosen by the deputies and that their decision should be “respected.”

In less than a week, Lebanon put an end to more than two years of presidential vacuum with Aoun's election during the parliamentary session on Thursday, Jan. 9, and quickly appointed a Prime Minister to replace Nagib Mikati, whose government had resigned in 2022 and was since acting in a caretaker role amid political tensions and a multidimensional crisis.

Since Oct. 8, 2023, the country had also been caught up in the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah that broke into open war last September, until a cease-fire, effective from Nov. 27, deescalated Israeli aggression on the country. Salam was designated 84 votes within the 128-seat Parliament, while outgoing Prime Minister Najib Mikati received nine votes and 35 ballots were cast blank.