Salam says Lebanon retrieving itself, its Arab identity and its openness to the world
Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said Tuesday that Lebanon, exhausted by divisions and wars, has decided to retrieve the state and its monopoly on arms and to return to the Arab fold.
In a speech at the Arab Media Summit in Dubai, Salam said that Lebanon's project - which "is not a fantasy, but a realistic project" - is based on reforms and sovereignty, explaining that the latter means freeing Lebanon from the duality of arms "which led to dual decision-making and to the loss of a national state."
"We want a Lebanon that takes its own decisions in peace and war, a Lebanon rooted in its Arab identity and affiliation, open to the world, and capable of serving as a bridge between the East and the West" Salam said, as he urged the Arab world to return as well to Lebanon through investments and partnerships. "As Lebanon returns to the Arab fold, it longs for the return of its Arab brothers to it, an effective return based on partnership," the Prime Minister said.
Salam said his "realistic" vision of the Lebanese state is "a state of law and institutions not a state of quotas and clientelism, a state of sovereignty not subjugation, a state of decision-making not an arena for conflicts."
Source: Naharnet
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