Lebanon’s new prime minister on Saturday formed the country’s first full-fledged government since 2022.
President Joseph Aoun announced in a statement that he had accepted the resignation of the former caretaker government and signed a decree with new Prime Minister Nawaf Salam forming the new government.
Salam vowed to “restore confidence between citizens and the state, between Lebanon and its Arab surroundings, and between Lebanon and the international community,” and to implement reforms needed to bring the country out of an extended economic crisis.
“Reform is the only path to a true salvation,” he said in a speech on Saturday.
He also promised to follow up on implementation of a ceasefire agreement that ended the most recent war between Israel and the Lebanese militant group and political party Hezbollah in late November and to ensure that Israeli forces “withdraw from Lebanese territory until the last inch.”
He pledged to ensure reconstruction in areas that suffered destruction during the war.
Salam’s cabinet of 24 ministers, split evenly between Christian and Muslim sects, was formed less than a month after he was appointed, and comes at a time where Lebanon is scrambling to rebuild its battered southern region and maintain security along its borders.
Economic crisis in its 6th year
Lebanon is also still in the throes of a crippling economic crisis, now in its sixth year, which has battered its banks, destroyed its state electricity sector and left many in poverty unable to access their savings.
Salam, a diplomat and former president of the International Court of Justice, has vowed to reform Lebanon’s judiciary and battered economy and bring about stability in the troubled country, which has faced numerous economic, political, and security crises for decades.
Though Hezbollah did not endorse Salam as prime minister, the Lebanese group did engage in negotiations with the new prime minister over the Shia Muslim seats in government, as per Lebanon’s power-sharing system.
That was despite comments by U.S. envoy Morgan Ortagus who said in a speech in Beirut on Friday that Washington had “set clear red lines from the United States” that Hezbollah would not be “a part of the government.” The comments drew backlash from many in Lebanon who saw them as meddling in internal Lebanese affairs.
Shift away from Hezbollah
Lebanon’s new authorities also mark a shift away from leaders that are close to Hezbollah, as Beirut hopes to continue improving ties with Saudi Arabia and other Gulf nations that have been concerned by Hezbollah’s growing political and military power over the past decade.
In early January, former army chief Aoun was elected president, ending that position’s vacuum. He was also a candidate not endorsed by Hezbollah and key allies.
Aoun has shared similar sentiments to Salam, also vowing to consolidate the state’s right to “monopolize the carrying of weapons,” in an apparent reference to the arms of Hezbollah.
In a speech on Saturday, Salam said Lebanon would implement UN Resolution 1701, which ended a previous war between Hezbollah and Israel in 2006.
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