Lebanon’s newly formed government established a ministerial committee tasked with drafting the policy statement, a crucial document that will determine whether Parliament grants confidence to the new cabinet.
The five-member committee includes Deputy Prime Minister Tarek Mitri, Minister of Culture Ghassan Salameh, Minister of Finance Yassine Jaber, Minister of Public Works and Transport Fayez Rasamny and Minister of Information Paul Morcos. The committee is set to hold its first meeting on Tuesday afternoon at the Grand Serail to begin formulating the text.
Earlier on Tuesday, Prime Minister Nawaf Salam’s government convened its first meeting at Baabda Palace, chaired by President Joseph Aoun. The session was preceded by the official photo, capturing ministers alongside President Aoun and Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri.
Following the photo session, Aoun and Berri held a meeting, after which the Council of Ministers officially convened. During the session, Prime Minister Salam addressed his ministers, stressing the necessity to maintain a clear separation between their public duties and private sector interests.
According to a post on his X account, Salam urged ministers to “fully dedicate themselves to their governmental responsibilities” and to resign from any board memberships in commercial companies or banks.
Policy Statement
The upcoming ministerial policy statement—to be submitted to Parliament—will outline the government’s priorities amid Lebanon’s ongoing economic, political and social crises.
Based on President Aoun’s inaugural speech, key areas expected in the policy declaration include reaffirming Lebanese sovereignty over the entire country, institutional and judicial reforms to strengthen governance, enhancing ties with the international community to secure diplomatic and economic support, economic and financial recovery, including banking sector restructuring, public finance management, aiming to restore investors’ confidence and fighting corruption.
Setting the tone for his administration, President Aoun emphasized during the meeting that “all allegiance should be to the State and not to any third party,” as relayed by Minister of Information Paul Morcos.
Addressing the ministers, President Aoun said, “you are the servants of the people, not the other way around,” according to Morcos.
Aoun further warned against public criticism of friendly nations and instructed ministers to remove security fortifications from their ministries, signaling a push for government accessibility and transparency.
Parliamentary Confidence
Despite the outlined reform roadmap, the ratification of the ministerial policy statement in Parliament is expected to face significant obstacles.
Among the primary opponents to granting confidence are MPs from the Free Patriotic Movement (FPM) and the Sunni blocs, particularly the former members of the Hariri camp, both of whom were notably excluded from the new government.
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