Aoun Calls for Return of French Investments, Emphasizes Need for Post-UNIFIL Framework

Beirut: President of the Republic General Joseph Aoun and the French Ambassador to Lebanon, Patrick Doriol, held a wide-ranging meeting that covered current local, regional, and international developments, as well as Lebanese-French relations and ways to strengthen them across all fields. In this context, President Aoun stressed “the importance of the return of French companies to invest in Lebanon, including TotalEnergies, which is responsible for oil and gas exploration in Lebanon’s offshore fields.”

President Aoun also addressed the post-phase following the end of the mandate of the international forces operating in the south, “UNIFIL,” emphasizing “the importance of reaching a suitable arrangement before the end of the current year.” Ambassador Doriol reiterated his country’s commitment to working to prevent a vacuum in the south after UNIFIL’s withdrawal, given the negative repercussions of such a scenario.

The discussion also covered economic reforms and their importance in preparing for the special conference on supporting Lebanon’s reconstruction. The French ambassador congratulated Lebanon on signing an agreement for the ports of Beirut and Tripoli to join the Economic Corridor Ports Club (IMEC) in New Delhi, the Indian capital. President Aoun considered this an important institutional achievement for Lebanon and a genuine window to enhance its partnerships and develop its logistics and commercial sectors in line with the latest standards.

The President of the Republic asked the French ambassador to convey his greetings and thanks to French President Emmanuel Macron for the resumption of regular French air flights to Lebanon.

On another note, President Aoun stressed at the beginning of the Council of Ministers session held at Baabda Palace yesterday “the need to focus on the positives in ministers’ work, rather than merely dwelling on negatives as some do.” He commended “the efforts of several ministers on what they have achieved in their ministries, particularly regarding the apple harvest season, keeping pace with the development of artificial intelligence, improvements at Rafic Hariri International Airport, and the restructuring of the Ministry of Health, among other initiatives in various ministries.” He called on the Parliament to work on approving a law establishing a “Ministry of Artificial Intelligence.”

During the session, the Council of Ministers appointed Professor Bassam Badran as president of the Lebanese University for a five-year term, and Ms. Diana Maradian as director of the Central Administration of Statistics.

For his part, Prime Minister Dr. Nawaf Salam revealed during the session that November 15 has been set as the date for the departure of the first commercial flight from Qleiaat Airport.