Meeting in Damascus between a Lebanese ministerial delegation, headed by Nawaf Salam, and Syrian President Ahmad el-Chareh, on May 9, 2026. Photo X / @grandserail
BEIRUT - The government of Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, which is set to meet Friday at 3 p.m. at the Baabda Palace, is expected to discuss the creation of a "higher Lebanese-Syrian ministerial commission" tasked with planning and coordinating relations between the two countries, L'Orient-Le Jour has learned.
The move comes nearly two weeks after Salam and a ministerial delegation visited Damascus, during which the Lebanese prime minister signaled that a new chapter was being opened in the relations between the two neighboring states.
A ministerial source noted that the Lebanese-Syrian Higher Council — a remnant of the Assad regime's tutelage over Lebanon —"'is de facto suspended" pending the repeal of the law that established it in the 1990s. The suspension of the council had already been announced in October 2025, during a visit to Beirut by Syrian Foreign Minister Assaad al-Chaibani.
In addition to this issue, the cabinet is expected to discuss a range of mainly administrative matters, as well as the situation in Lebanon, with fighting between Hezbollah and Israel continuing despite the cease-fire and direct negotiations between Beirut and Israel set to resume in Washington next week.
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