Prime Minister Nawaf Salam in a meeting at the Grand Serail in Beirut, May 13, 2025. (Credit: NNA.)
Prime Minister Nawaf Salam continued Tuesday at the Grand Serail a series of meetings with local stakeholders and international partners, in the context of reforms his government is striving to carry out successfully.
He first received a delegation from the Association of Alumni of the Makassed University. Salam reaffirmed to his interlocutors “the government's determination to continue the reform program,” emphasizing that “Lebanon can no longer continue in the situation it was in before: it needs real and effective reform,” he said according to comments quoted by the state-run National News Agency (NNA).
The head of government insisted on the priority of the banking issue, with the gradual restitution of depositors' funds “over a shorter period than the ten years previously mentioned.” He also highlighted the overhaul of the administration, the fight against patronage, and the revival of regulatory bodies, supported by a new mechanism for transparent appointments.
He then mentioned a traffic plan to relieve congestion in Beirut and called for “taking necessary measures to control the security situation.” On the economic side, he expressed hope for “a successful tourist season” and for tourism that is “sustainable, not just seasonal,” while focusing on strengthening productive sectors like agriculture and industry.
Delegation members hailed recent measures, notably “the adoption of the draft law on judicial independence, the lifting of banking secrecy, and the restructuring of the banking sector.” They also emphasized the importance of Salam's visit to the Bekaa and Beirut airport and called for an update of school curriculums.
UNRWA, France, and United Kingdom
Salam then conferred with Ian Martin, in charge of strategic evaluation of UNRWA, accompanied by Dorothy Klaus, director of the U.N. agency in Lebanon, and ambassador Ramzi Dimachkieh. Discussions focused on living conditions in Palestinian camps and support for the strategy of the Lebanese-Palestinian Dialogue Committee. Ian Martin presented findings from his visit to the Ain al-Hilweh camp near Saida.
Later, the prime minister received Jacques de Lajugie, special envoy of French President Emmanuel Macron for economic issues, in the presence of ambassador Hervé Magro. Paris reiterated “its willingness to cooperate in preparing an international support conference for Lebanon.”
A meeting also took place with Marshal Harv Smith, UK Deputy Chief of Defense Staff, and UK ambassador Hamish Cowell. In addition to security and military cooperation issues, discussions focused on the situation in southern Lebanon. Salam reminded that there is “the need for a total withdrawal of the Israeli army from Lebanese territory,” while five positions deemed “strategic” remain occupied by Israeli troops.
Dialogue with union collectives
The prime minister finally received a delegation from the “My Work, My Rights” and the “Independent Labor and Union Grouping” collectives, who presented him with a memorandum in favor of a fair national partnership for workers. This document calls for social reform on eight axes, including the overhaul of the financial and banking system, salary revaluation, universal health coverage, and the independence of union action.
It also advocates for the adoption of social protection decrees, the extension of social security to domestic and migrant workers, and the abolition of the kafala system, a sponsorship mechanism linking a worker’s residency permit to the contract signed with their sponsor or employer.