Lebanon – Visit by Jean-Yves Le Drian, President’s Special Envoy to Lebanon (25-27 July 2023)

Jean-Yves Le Drian, the President’s Special Envoy to Lebanon, paid a second visit to Lebanon from 25 to 27 July.

As he had done during his first visit, he emphasized to all his interlocutors the urgent need to overcome the current political and institutional deadlock fuelled by the continued presidential vacuum, which poses major risks to Lebanon, its State and its stability.

In this context, he proposed to all those taking part in the process of electing a president to invite them to a meeting in Lebanon in September to achieve a consensus on the challenges and on the priority projects the future president will have to carry out, and consequently the qualities necessary for tackling them. The goal of the meeting is to create a climate of trust and enable Parliament to meet subsequently amid conditions favourable to the holding of an open ballot, in order to solve the crisis quickly.

This initiative of facilitation and good offices begun by France enjoys the full support of the partners and friends of Lebanon who met in Doha on 17 July.

The Special Envoy noted the constructive, open attitude of all his Lebanese interlocutors to this concrete, pragmatic approach, centring on the president’s election and on what he will have to do to put Lebanon on the path of recovery and stability, to enable it to recover its position in its regional environment and regain the confidence of the international community.