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Najib said from Mika that calling for a successor to the Saudi prince and the French president is a “major step” in restoring Gulf relations.
Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati has said that his call with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman (MBS) and French President Emmanuel Macron has been an “important step” in restoring relations with the Gulf.
Lebanese Minister of Information George Kordahi resigned to help end the diplomatic clash with Saudi Arabia on Friday over comments made in October Criticizing Saudi Arabia’s role in the war in Yemen. Riyadh recalled its ambassador and banned imports from Lebanon for statements he called “offensive”.
The French president, who was in Saudi Arabia in talks with the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia on a Gulf tour, told reporters on Saturday that Riyadh had made a short-term financial commitment again.
“Now, therefore, we will work in a very concrete way between the two of us,” he said.
Macron said in a call with Mikati that he and the MBS had “sent a clear message that Saudi Arabia and France want to be fully committed.”
“We want to make a commitment to help the people of Lebanon, so we want to do everything we can to reopen trade and the economy,” Macron told reporters before leaving the kingdom.
“We want it too [Lebanese] so that the government can work in a normal way and therefore meet as soon as possible, and make useful reforms, ”he added.
The French president has said that France and Saudi Arabia will work together to provide Lebanon with essential humanitarian aid as it faces the economic crisis caused by government failures and widespread corruption.
The Lebanese cabinet said in a statement on Facebook on Saturday that it had stressed the commitment of Mika to his government’s reforms.
‘Important step’
Macron marked another intervention to try to help Lebanon, a nation that was once a French protectorate. It was also the first call between the Saudi heir and the Lebanese prime minister since Mikika took office in September.
Macron said he would call his Lebanese counterpart, Michel Aoun, on his return to Paris.
Macron has led international efforts to resolve the political and economic crisis in Lebanon. But despite importing a large portion of its capital into the issue for more than a year, it has so far failed to push for political clashes in the country to carry out economic reforms that would unlock essential foreign aid.
In October, Riyadh expelled Lebanon’s envoy to the kingdom, recalling its ambassador to Beirut and banning Lebanese imports from the Kordahi Hezbollah movement’s allies, following statements calling Riyadh a “terrorist” organization. The United Arab Emirates and Bahrain followed.
Kordahik said on Friday that he was acting in the best interests of his country when he resigned to help end the conflict. Hezbollah is one of the most powerful actors in Iran-backed Lebanese politics.
Saudi Arabia and Iran have long struggled to influence the region, including Lebanon, which is struggling with a deep economic crisis and needs financial support from regional and international donors.
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