BEIRUT (Reuters) – Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister visited Lebanon on Thursday in the first visit to Beirut by Riyadh’s top diplomat in 15 years, seeking commitment to reforms as the Gulf state reasserts influence in a country where Iranian influence is waning.
Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al-Saud’s visit reflects seismic political shifts in Lebanon since Israel struck Iran-backed Hezbollah in a war last year and since rebels ousted Hezbollah’s Syrian ally Bashar al-Assad in December.
Prince Faisal is expected to meet with Lebanon’s new president, Joseph Aoun, and his deputy prime minister, Nawaf Salam. Both took office this month, marking a new phase for a country mired in a financial crisis since 2019 and now facing a billion-dollar reconstruction bill.
Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos on Tuesday, Prince Faisal said Saudi Arabia saw the election of a Lebanese president after a vacuum of more than two years as extremely positive. He expressed hope that a new Lebanese government would be formed “in the not too distant future.”
“We will have to see real action, we will have to see real reform, we will have to see a commitment to a Lebanon that looks to the future, not to the past, in order to increase our engagement,” he said. he said.
“I plan to visit Lebanon this week, and I think, based on what I’m hearing there and what we’re seeing, I think that will influence the kingdom’s approach,” he added.
Lebanese officials said he was expected on Thursday.
Saudi Arabia once spent billions in Lebanon, depositing funds in the central bank, helping to rebuild the south after the 2006 war between Hezbollah and Israel, and supporting numerous Lebanese politicians, only to see Hezbollah grow in power and influence with Iran’s support. across the Middle East.
Nabil Boumonsef, deputy editor-in-chief of the Annahar newspaper, said Lebanon is back on Saudi Arabia’s agenda and reflects its interest in neighboring Syria, where Riyadh is playing a leading role in recruiting a new government.
But he did not expect the Saudis to provide the kind of unconditional support that once flowed to Lebanon.
“To help Lebanon in a meaningful way …, they want to wait to see the government that will be formed by Prime Minister Salam. It should be a government of real reforms that can be trusted to help,” he said.
Events in recent months have boosted Lebanon’s international bonds, which are in default from 2020, fueling optimism that the new government could begin long-delayed reforms.
Lebanon’s political class led the country to an economic disaster in 2019, when the financial system exploded under the burden of massive government debts, trapping deposits in the banking system and impoverishing many Lebanese.
Salam, in comments to reporters on Wednesday, said he is committed to forming a government that fulfills the aspirations of the Lebanese people. “I want my government to be a government of recovery and reform,” he said.
Talks on the formation of the cabinet in Lebanon are often drawn out as sectarian groups change ministerial portfolios.
Israel dealt heavy blows to Hezbollah during last year’s war, killing many of its leaders, including Hassan Nasrallah.
