President Michel Aoun on Friday reiterated his call for “separating the foreign political choices” of the Lebanese parties from the domestic situation.
“In the last (national) dialogue session that I participated in, and after a political debate erupted over the Middle East issues… I called for separating the foreign political choices from the Lebanese situation,” Aoun told a delegation from the Economic Committees, a grouping of the country’s leading businessmen and owners of major firms.
“I told them let us build Lebanon and I believe that the idea has worked today,” Aoun added.
The newly-elected president reassured the delegation that “there are good promises, especially regarding the summer tourism season.”
“I have received congratulatory phone calls from all Arab countries and I invited them to visit Lebanon while reassuring them over security and stability. They all made good promises and I hope that will materialize,” Aoun added.
“Economic issues can materialize gradually and they need time. The security situation will improve, and when things calm down in the region around us, Lebanon will return to be a center of attraction,” the president said.
Aoun’s election and Saad Hariri’s appointment as PM-designate have raised hopes that Lebanon can begin tackling challenges including a stagnant economy, a moribund political class and the influx of more than a million Syrian refugees.
Analysts have warned that Aoun’s election will not be a “magic wand” for Lebanon, which has seen longstanding political divisions exacerbated by the war in neighboring Syria and has struggled to deal with an influx of more than a million Syrian refugees.
In addition to pledges of economic growth and security, Aoun said in his oath of office that Lebanon must work to ensure Syrian refugees “can return quickly” to their country.
Aoun also pledged to endorse an “independent foreign policy” and to protect Lebanon from “the fires burning across the region.”
Lebanon
