Lebanon's Minister of Foreign Affairs Joe Rajji in the 163 Arab League ordinary session. (Credit: Ministry of Foreign Affairs)
BEIRUT — A speech delivered by Foreign Minister Joe Rajji in Cairo on Wednesday during the Arab League's 163rd summit focused on the importance of Lebanon developing a foreign policy that protects its domestic politics from foreign interference.
"All Lebanese are keen on the best relations with brotherly Arab countries," Rajji told the session, "and Lebanon emphasizes the adoption of a foreign policy based on defending its independence and its interests exclusively, safeguarding its sovereignty and preventing any foreign interference in its internal affairs."
Lebanon upholds "a policy of positive neutrality, mutual respect for sovereignty and common Arab interests," Rajji declared, and is dedicated to building "strategic partnerships" with Arab countries. A former consul in Brussels and Belgium, and former deputy head of the Lebanon mission at the U.N. also told his counterparts in the Arab League that Lebanon would work to "prevent any conspiracy against their regimes and sovereignty".
Rajji thanked "our Arab brothers" for their solidarity with and assistance for Lebanon as the country struggles under the weight of war and economic crisis. Lebanon is "working hard to stabilize the political and security situation and to take economic reform steps," he added, "which would enhance economic cooperation with brotherly Arab countries and encourage investment."
Rajji said that the foundation has been laid for a "clear policy" on the Lebanese government having complete sovereignty over all its territory and establishing a monopoly on arms, especially following the formation of the new government under Prime Minister Nawaf Salam in January, during which Rajji was appointed to his post.
Israel continues to occupy five points within Lebanese territory, going against the terms of the cease-fire agreement it signed with Lebanon to bring the 13-month war to an end on Nov. 27. Lebanese authorities have appealed to various international actors to lay pressure on Israel to complete its withdrawal, while Israel insists on retaining these positions so long as it perceives a "threat" from Lebanon.
Rajji specifically called on the international community to compel Israel to abide by the 1949 Lebanese-Israeli Armistice Agreement, which aimed to reach "permanent peace in Palestine" and called on all parties not to "resort to military force in the settlement of the Palestine question."
"The world has witnessed Lebanon's full commitment to the terms of the [November 2024] cease-fire agreement," Rajji said. "However, Israel insists on undermining this agreement. It continues to violate Lebanon's sovereignty and territorial integrity on a daily basis, bombing cities and villages, obstructing the return of citizens to their villages, occupying border areas, and refusing to release the Lebanese prisoners held by Israel."
The question of Hezbollah's disarmament has been in the headlines in Lebanon for weeks now as President Joseph Aoun leads discussions with the party on a possible integration of the group's armed wing into the state's security apparatus, a topic that arose following the deterioration of the party's military capabilities during the war with Israel.
Rajji said the foundation on which the sovereignty and arms monopoly policy stands includes a "commitment to the National Pact ... and genuine power-sharing between the components of Lebanese society, which promotes national unity and effective participation."
A process toward reforms in various fields and levels has been launched in Lebanon, Rajji told the conference of foreign ministers, and assured that these are "necessary reforms that will take Lebanon out of the crises it has been going through for years and put it back on the path of prosperity."
Regarding the Syrian refugee crisis, the foreign minister said that his government was ready to cooperate with Syria for "the return of displaced Syrians," hundreds of thousands of whom fled to Lebanon at the onset of the brutal 14-year Syrian Civil War. Syria is in a fragile transition phase, however, Rajji claimed that "the reasons for their displacement no longer exist," and refugees should be sent back over the border.
"We also seek to demarcate the borders between our two countries," Rajji continued, "and we have agreed to form Lebanese-Syrian legal and technical committees to work on this issue, which would allow the Lebanese state to control its borders and extend its sovereignty over them, and prevent smuggling in all its forms."
According to Rajji, the Lebanese government is also addressing the file of missing Lebanese who were detained in the former Syrian regime's notorious prison system: "a humanitarian issue that can no longer wait."
