PM Salam at Arab Media Summit: Lebanon rises from crisis, seeks sovereignty, reform, and Arab partnership

From the Arab Media Summit in Dubai, Lebanon’s Prime Minister Nawaf Salam delivered a series of pointed remarks outlining his government’s vision for a sovereign, reformed Lebanon and the role of responsible media in shaping public discourse.

Salam stressed the urgent need for a media that prioritizes truth above all else: “We need journalism that acts with a sense of responsibility—not a tool of distortion. I speak from the perspective of a lawyer who learned that truth cannot be built on conjecture.”

Salam said he brings with him the voice of a Lebanon “rising from the rubble of its crises,” a country now committed to reclaiming its statehood and voice. 

“Our project is founded on the parallel tracks of reform and sovereignty. Sovereignty requires that weapons be held solely by the state and that Lebanon move beyond the duality of arms that once created a duality in decision-making,” he declared.

He went on to emphasize the need for institutional governance, rejecting systems of political patronage and division. 

Salam emphasized, “We want a state of law and institutions, not a state of quotas and clientelism—a sovereign state, not one held hostage. A country with the power to decide its fate in peace and in war. We want Lebanon rooted in its Lebanese and Arab identity and open to the world.”

Highlighting the importance of Arab solidarity, Salam stressed: “Today, as Lebanon returns to its Arab environment, it yearns for a meaningful return of its Arab brothers—a return based on partnership and mutual support.”