The absence of a president for eight months “remains the main obstacle to solving the country’s severe socio-economic crisis”, stressed the Elysée on Friday evening at the end of the meeting between the head of state and the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia.
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Posted on 06/16/2023 22:08
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Mohammed bin Salman and Emmanuel Macron at the Elysee Palace, June 16, 2023. (IBRAHIM EZZAT / NURPHOTO / AFP)
Emmanuel Macron and the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, Mohammed ben Salmane, “recalled the need to quickly put an end to the institutional political gap in Lebanon,” the Elysée Palace announced on Friday evening, June 16, after a meeting between the two guides. The eight-month absence of a president “remains the main obstacle to a solution to the country’s severe socio-economic crisis”, stresses the French presidency.
Lebanon’s parliament failed to elect a president for the 12th time on Wednesday, and the standoff between powerful pro-Iranian Hezbollah and its opponents is raising the risk of a prolonged vacancy in the country. Lebanon is in complete economic collapse and is being run by a resigning government with reduced powers.
“Efforts” to “Permanent Appeasement”
The President of the Republic and the Saudi Prince “also recalled their shared commitment to security and stability in the Middle East and expressed their desire to continue their joint efforts to bring about a lasting easing of tensions”. Bilaterally, they want to “further develop and deepen the partnership between the two countries”.
France is therefore ready to “support Saudi Arabia in strengthening its defense capabilities” and Emmanuel Macron recalled “the desire of French companies to continue to support Saudi Arabia in the implementation of its ambitious Vision 2030”, a comprehensive reform program. The President of the Republic thus highlighted “the recognized know-how of French companies, particularly in the areas of energy transition, transport, health and new technologies”.
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