The Lebanese delegation to the Arab summit to be held on Friday in Jeddah has two objectives: regaining the confidence of Arab leaders and beginning to resolve the crisis of displaced Syrians.
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Improving relations with the Arab States by regaining their trust, and beginning to resolve the crisis of displaced Syrians on its territory: these are the two main issues which Lebanon hopes to see evolve positively, as a result of its participation in the Arab summit which will be held on Friday, 19 May in Jeddah.
The Lebanese delegation, led by Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati, includes five caretaker ministers who will hold meetings with their Arab counterparts. The members of the delegation are the Ministers of Foreign Affairs, Abdallah Bou Habib, Economy Amin Salam, Industry Georges Bouchikian, Agriculture Abbas Hajj Hassan and Tourism Walid Nassar. The choice of participants highlights the socio-economic nature of some of these meetings.
Respect relationship with Arabs
Lebanon will first endeavor to convey several important messages to Arab leaders. It will stress, as specified by knowledgeable government sources, “Lebanon’s commitment to respect international resolutions and relations with Arab countries, and to take all necessary measures to protect the interests of Arab countries and ensure that harm against these countries will never be caused again.”
This covers the preservation of “the social and political security of Arab countries,” and the cessation of certain “illegal” practices, according to the aforementioned sources. These practices include, among other things, the trafficking of captagon to the Gulf countries.
The refugees
The second file which Lebanon wishes to discuss and begin to resolve pertains to Syrian refugees, a file “which weighs very heavily” on the country, as the aforementioned sources point out.
The Lebanese delegation will endeavor to explain that the refugees’ presence exerts a pressure which exceeds the host country’s capacities. Lebanon will ask the Arab countries, and through them the international community, “to assume their responsibilities as they do in other countries in the region.”
These two issues will be mentioned by Mr. Mikati in the speech he will deliver in Jeddah.
This summit therefore holds great importance for Lebanon, because it is an opportunity to explain the situation in the country and to ask the Arabs to stand by its side.
“These meetings provide an essential platform for talking to each other and understanding each other,” claim the aforementioned sources, who point out that Syria’s reintegration into the Arab League can facilitate the resolution of many issues which have been pending for years.
In this context, it appears that no visit by Mr. Mikati to Damascus has yet been decided. The government sources specify that “nothing prevents it, but before it takes place, many things will have to have been discussed.”
Composition of the delegation
The sources claim that the absence of the Ministers of Social Affairs and Displaced Persons, Hector Hajjar and Issam Charafeddine, who worked on the refugee file, “has no connotation.”
They state that no minister was intentionally left out. The refugee file will be explained by Mr. Mikati; and a decision has been made to give priority to the files of tourism, industry and agriculture in the bilateral interministerial meetings.
Moreover, a consultative meeting should be held on May 22nd at the Grand Serail, between Mr. Mikati and the ministers. It would be devoted, in large part, to the refugee file, in order to prepare for a possible meeting of the Council of Ministers.
Final statement
On Monday morning, the Prime Minister held a meeting with the Foreign Minister, devoted to coordinating the Lebanese position.
Bou Habib, who went to Riyadh in the evening, will take part in the meeting of Arab Foreign Ministers on Wednesday. He will also have bilateral talks with several of his counterparts.
The Ministers will prepare the first version of the summit’s final statement. According to official sources, the part relating to Lebanon should not be very different from that which appeared in the statement of the Arab summit held in Algiers last November. Additionally, the paragraphs about Syria and Iran should take into consideration the great changes which have taken place since.
This summit will mark the reintegration of Syria into the League, eleven years and a half after the suspension of its membership following the bloody repression of demonstrations against Bashar al-Assad.
The tone towards Iran should also be friendlier, after the restoration of its diplomatic relations with Saudi Arabia last April.
