The first Cabinet meeting under Prime Minister Nawaf Salam was held Tuesday in Baabda, where a committee was formed to draft the government’s ministerial statement. President Joseph Aoun and Salam issued directives to ministers, emphasizing the need for transparency and respect for "friendly nations."

Speaking after the meeting, Information Minister Paul Morcos announced that Salam would chair the committee, which includes Deputy Prime Minister Tarek Mitri (representing both Aoun and Salam’s shares in the government) and ministers Yassin Jaber (Finance, Amal), Ghassan Salameh (Culture, also representing Aoun and Salam), Fayez Rassamny (Public Works and Transport, Progressive Socialist Party), and Joe Issa al-Khoury (Industry, Lebanese Forces).

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"This committee will begin work soon and complete its mission within a few days. The statement will be concise and direct," Morcos said. The committee will hold its first meeting at 4 p.m. at the Grand Serail.

Meanwhile, Salam officially assumed his duties at the Grand Serail, the seat of the Cabinet and the prime minister's residence, according to NNA. He arrived at noon for a welcome ceremony, during which he was greeted by a brief drill from the government’s presidential guard company.

The ministerial statement is the government’s first political test, as Parliament will base its confidence vote on its content. While previous governments often agreed on key elements of the statement in advance, shifting political dynamics — particularly Hezbollah’s weakened position and the collapse of the Assad regime in Syria — could lead to changes. One major issue under discussion is whether to remove the Hezbollah-backed "Army, people, resistance" clause from the statement, especially after Aoun vowed in his January inauguration speech to address the group’s weapons.

Calls for reform, removal of security barriers

According to L’Orient-Le Jour, several ministers from different factions requested to join the drafting committee, but Salam limited membership to one representative per political group. Among those excluded were Labor Minister Mohammad Haidar (Hezbollah), Justice Minister Adel Nassar (Kataeb) and Minister of Displaced Persons and Artificial Intelligence Kamal Shehadeh (Lebanese Forces).

During the meeting, Aoun urged ministers to "serve the state alone" and pledged reforms with international support. He also called for restraint in diplomatic matters, urging ministers to "refrain from criticizing friendly nations and to communicate through official diplomatic channels." Additionally, he requested the removal of security fortifications — mainly concrete barriers — around certain ministries, stating, "Lebanon will recover through reforms, not obstructions."

Salam, for his part, stressed that "this is not the time for political one-upmanship" and instructed ministers to maintain "complete transparency" in their work.

In an interview with MTV, Morcos said the government’s priority would be reforms, with Aoun insisting on fighting institutional corruption and implementing U.N. Security Council Resolution 1701. Aoun also called for an Israeli withdrawal from Lebanese villages it still occupies in the south.

Before the meeting, the full Cabinet posed for a group photo in front of the palace and observed a minute of silence for "martyrs who fell during the latest Israeli offensive on Lebanon." The war has killed more than 4,000 people and continues to claim lives despite the cease-fire.

The Cabinet session followed a meeting between Aoun and Salam, who were later joined by Speaker Nabih Berri, according to the state-run National News Agency.