Lebanese Foreign Minister Joe Rajji. (Credit: The ministry's press office)
Lebanese Foreign Affairs Minister Joe Rajji spoke with the Kuwaiti newspaper Al Rai two days before an official visit to Kuwait with Lebanese President Joseph Aoun. He reflected on the diplomatic crises of recent years between the Gulf countries and Lebanon, marked by commercial boycotts and tensions due to Hezbollah's influence on Lebanese politics. In an interview published Thursday evening, Rajji stated that the Gulf countries were "right to be offended" by Lebanon's "deviant policies" over the past years.
Rajji is among the ministers supported by the Lebanese Forces, who had not participated in successive governments since the large anti-government protest movement of October 2019, which led to the fall of Saad Hariri's cabinet.
New foreign policy approach
The Lebanese foreign minister told the Kuwaiti press that "the time of our isolation from the Arab world is over." According to him, it was the country's "deviant policies" in recent years that led to the "disappointment of the Gulf countries," who were "right to be offended." "Certain circumstances distanced Kuwait from a Lebanon that no longer resembled itself," he added. However, with Aoun's mandate and the new Nawaf Salam government, the visit scheduled for Sunday will show that "a new page has been turned and things have resumed their normal course," added the head of the Bustros Palace.
"With President Aoun, Nawaf Salam and the government, it has become apparent to our brothers in the Gulf and the Arab world that there is now a completely new approach to foreign policy," he added. "We want to restore the trust of Arab countries and the international community, after having been absent for years from the international scene due to what some of us did against ourselves and against Lebanon," he said.
In recent years, Gulf countries have repeatedly cut their diplomatic or commercial relations with Lebanon. One of these crises, in 2021, was notably initiated by statements from former Information Minister Georges Qordahi concerning Saudi Arabia and the UAE and their support for the Yemeni government in its war against the Houthis. Saudi diplomacy had then condemned Hezbollah and Iran's hold on the government amid Iranian-Saudi tensions. A few months earlier, Saudi Arabia had suspended all trade after a shipment of millions of captagon pills was found in a Saudi port, in fruits [pomegranates] coming from Lebanon.
'Serious promises' from the Gulf
However, since Aoun's election on Jan. 9 and the formation of Nawaf Salam's government a month later—and while Hezbollah has been significantly weakened by the war with Israel since October 2023—the restoration of diplomatic relations with Gulf countries is a top priority for the government. In this context, Aoun has already traveled to Riyadh, where he was received lavishly by Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman, before being followed by Salam, who visited during the Eid al-Adha celebration. The head of state was also received in Doha and Abu Dhabi.
These visits seem to have paid off since last Sunday, a few days after the meeting between Aoun and Mohammad bin Zayed; Abu Dhabi lifted the ban on its citizens traveling to Lebanon, a decision that formally came into effect on Wednesday. On this subject, Rajji recalled that the Emirati decision "has a significant political dimension," demonstrating a "political will" to open up to Beirut and "confidence in its ability to guarantee the safety of visitors." He mentioned "serious promises" from other Gulf countries for similar decisions, without specifying which ones, while some observers expect Saudi Arabia to soon allow its citizens to travel to Lebanon again. He assured that the Lebanese authorities "are doing everything necessary at all levels to make the summer promising and prevent the war from returning."
'Hezbollah's stance complicates matters'
Rajji also indicated that the Lebanese government "works to restore the authority of the state, but with caution and wisdom," because this issue "cannot be resolved overnight." Aoun and Salam have made the state's monopoly on arms their leitmotif, without, however, setting a timetable for disarming Hezbollah. The latter advocates a "dialogue on a defense strategy," warning against any unilateral decision by authorities concerning its arsenal. On this subject, the minister estimated that "Hezbollah's stance complicates matters" for obtaining an Israeli withdrawal from positions still occupied in southern Lebanon, while the party "thinks it is strengthening Lebanon's position." Nevertheless, the country "is moving in the right direction," he affirmed, praising the "remarkable work of the army" south of the Litani, where it "has dismantled nearly 90 percent of Hezbollah's military infrastructure and continues its efforts, but things still require a little time for technical reasons."
The cease-fire agreement that came into effect at the end of November 2024 after months of war between Hezbollah and Israel is violated almost daily by the Israeli state, which not only bombards southern Lebanon and the Bekaa in attacks that have killed more than 150 people since the beginning of the truce but also continues to occupy five positions along the border, on Lebanese territory.
Regarding the weapons in the Palestinian camps, Rajji affirmed that "the decision to disarm the camps is taken in principle," and now it remains to "define an implementation mechanism in agreement with the Palestinian Authority and Palestinians." Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is expected to visit Lebanon on May 21 in this context. For its part, Hamas stated Thursday in a statement that it "fully respects the cease-fire" with Israel in Lebanon and coordinates its activities with the Lebanese state.
This article was translated from L'Orient-Le Jour.
In Zahle, no voting instructions from the FPM to its supporters