Aoun: Confidence in Lebanon is gradually returning

The Lebanese President, Joseph Aoun, expressed satisfaction on Monday, in front of a delegation of the International Federation of Lebanese Businessmen and Women (MIDEL), about the gradual return of confidence in the country.

"Confidence in Lebanon is gradually returning, and a fair judicial system strengthens this confidence, both inside and outside the country," said Aoun, as several Gulf countries have lifted the bans imposed on their nationals to travel to Lebanon.

Aoun has made the establishment of a "just and efficient" judicial system one of the two priority pillars of his mandate, the second being the fight against corruption. "I am focusing on these two issues," he stated. "The fight against corruption remains a priority: no file will remain closed, and no culprit will be covered," he added, citing several measures, including the digitization of the administration "to reduce bribes and favoritism."

During the reception of MIDEL, Aoun also emphasized the importance of citizen responsibility alongside the state, which, according to him, will "reduce corruption and waste" of resources. The president also called for "cooperation between the executive and legislative authorities to rapidly adopt the necessary laws."

Heading the MIDEL delegation, Dr. Fouad Zmokhol recalled that, economically, reconstruction requires "a strong banking sector," hoping that the reforms "will be implemented as soon as possible." He warned that a delay on this issue until the next legislative elections would be fatal for the country's economy.

Zmokhol also estimated that Lebanon has a role to play in the Syrian dossier. According to him, "the Syrian reconstruction project cannot be completed without part of it passing through Lebanon," explaining that it would be a shame to miss the necessary structural reforms to participate. "It is important to rebuild better relations with our Syrian and Arab brothers, based on independence, transparency, and respect," he stressed.

Lebanon is emerging from 13 months of devastating war between Hezbollah and Israel, which destroyed entire villages in the South and Beqaa and neighborhoods in the southern suburbs of Beirut. This conflict erupted after Hezbollah opened the front against Israel in the wake of the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas on the Jewish state, while the country has been experiencing a severe socio-economic crisis for over five years. To help it extricate itself, the international community is demanding a series of reforms from the Lebanese authorities.