Salam: Lebanon's natural place was and will remain in its Arab depth and among its Arab brothers

Beirut - Mansour Shaaban

Amid the continuation of daily Israeli military operations—flights, airstrikes, shelling, and explosions—in southern towns and villages, the three presidential offices held a series of meetings and exploratory visits. The most prominent of these was President of the Republic General Joseph Aoun’s briefing of the Papal Nuncio to Lebanon, Monsignor Paolo Borgia, who visited Baabda Palace yesterday to discuss the outcomes of his visit to the United States and his talks with President Donald Trump, as well as the situation in the south. Borgia affirmed the Pope’s interest in Lebanon and his continued efforts to achieve security and stability there.

President Aoun also received MP Melhem Riachi, a special envoy from the leader of the Lebanese Forces party, Samir Geagea, to learn about the results of the presidential visit to Washington. Riachi reiterated the Lebanese Forces’ support for the President’s positions and his national choices to extend state authority over the entirety of its territory. He was also visited by the Change MPs: Yassin Yassin, Dahi Al-Sadiq, Firas Hamdan, Michel Al-Duhy, and Marc Dho, who “reaffirmed their support for the national path led by the President of the Republic to enhance the role of the state and its institutions and to restore Lebanon’s presence regionally and internationally.” They also emphasized “support for state-led negotiations to achieve a complete Israeli withdrawal, the return of residents to their villages, and the launch of reconstruction under the umbrella of legitimacy.” They stressed that “the state and its institutions, foremost among them the army, are the sole guarantor of sovereignty and security,” and highlighted the importance of coordination between the presidential and governmental offices.

On a parallel track, Speaker of the Parliament Nabih Berri received the President of the Federal National Council of the United Arab Emirates, Saqr Ghobash, in the presence of the UAE Ambassador to Lebanon, Fahd Salem Al-Kaabi. They discussed developments in Lebanon and the region, as well as legislative cooperation between the Lebanese Parliament and the UAE Federal National Council, in addition to bilateral relations between the two countries.

Prime Minister Nawaf Salam also reviewed the situation with the UAE official, affirming that “the stronger Lebanon’s ties with its Arab depth, the faster it can proceed on the path to recovery and prosperity. The deeper the Arab cooperation, the greater our countries’ capacity to achieve security and stability and safeguard the interests of our peoples.” He stated, “Lebanon’s natural place has been and will remain in its Arab depth and among its Arab brothers.”

Presidents Berri and Salam had previously discussed the latest developments in light of Israel’s violation of the ceasefire, as well as the results of Prime Minister Nawaf Salam’s and the ministerial delegation’s visit to Iraq, during a meeting at Ain El-Tineh.

Meanwhile, Minister of Education and Higher Education Dr. Rima Karami raised her voice in a statement condemning the Israeli army’s “systematic destruction of educational and care institutions,” the latest being the “Abd al-Raouf Fadlallah Educational and Social Complex” in the town of Einata, in the Bint Jbeil district. She said, “We repeat our call and raise our voices, urging major and influential countries to pressure Israel to stop the demolition of educational institutions and homes, especially as we are still at the beginning of the negotiation process to achieve de-escalation and an Israeli withdrawal from our lands.”

In the meantime, MP Jihad Al-Samad issued a national appeal “in defense of Taif and the Constitution,” speaking of “persistent attempts to undermine the National Pact document and strike at the constitutional powers enshrined by the Taif Agreement, with the aim of returning actual practice to the pre-Taif Constitution era under the guise of restoring the President of the Republic’s powers, a narrative repeated by Baabda circles on multiple occasions.” He added, “The current era has witnessed serious transgressions against the powers of the Council of Ministers and its head, as well as those of ministers and public administrations.”

The economic dimension moved to the forefront due to the instability of public transport fares caused by rising fuel prices and taxes. This issue was the subject of discussion between the General Secretary of the General Federation of Lebanese Workers, Dr. Bashir Al-Asmar, and President Aoun, who listened to Al-Asmar’s warning about the “deterioration of workers’ conditions and the catastrophic repercussions of Israeli aggression on the economy and the labor market.” Al-Asmar called for the imposition of no new taxes or fees and for the adjustment of wages.