PM Salam tells Lebanese in UAE: Our mission is to rebuild the state and restore trust

Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, speaking to members of the Lebanese community in the UAE during a reception held in his honor at the consulate, reaffirmed his government's commitment to advancing its reform and sovereignty agenda. 

He emphasized that the government's core mission is to rebuild the state and restore the trust of both Lebanese citizens and investors.

"I know many of you came here because conditions in Lebanon have been far from normal in recent years due to wars and recurring crises," he said. "But your presence in the UAE has been a vital source of support for Lebanon over the past few years."

He added, "It's no secret that Lebanon has missed many opportunities—starting with the Taif Agreement, which ended the civil war but was implemented selectively, eroding confidence in our political system. We also failed to capitalize on Israel's withdrawal from Lebanon and, later, on the Syrian withdrawal as well."

He continued, “Today we have a new opportunity. I know many of you are here because you lost faith in Lebanon. Our goal now is to win back your trust—and the trust of all Lebanese. We have one mission: rebuilding the state. That starts with financial, administrative, and political reforms. We’ve already made progress, even though the government has only been in office for three months.”

“We passed the banking secrecy law in Parliament, and we’re moving forward with a plan to reform the banking sector. We’re also working on a comprehensive strategy to address the financial gap, and we’ve developed a proposal to strengthen judicial independence, which we hope will be passed soon.”

He added, “Rebuilding the public administration is another key priority. We’ve adopted a new merit-based and transparent appointment process, which led to the selection of the head of the Council for Development and Reconstruction, and we will soon appoint the rest of the members. All future appointments will follow this new approach. We’ve also launched regulatory bodies for the telecom and electricity sectors, and we hope to complete the appointments for these authorities soon.”

He added, “Our second priority is strengthening security, which means restoring state sovereignty and extending it across all Lebanese territory. We dedicated three sections of our ministerial statement to this issue, reaffirming the principles of the Taif Agreement: the state must exercise full sovereignty, all weapons must be under the control of the Lebanese state, and decisions of war and peace must return to the state alone.”

He continued, “What’s hindering this path is the ongoing Israeli occupation of several points in the south. Let’s be clear—we’re no longer in the era of World War I. We now live in an age of satellites and surveillance balloons, not to mention the spy networks operating on the ground.”

He stressed that “Israel’s continued occupation delays Lebanon’s ability to fully assert its sovereignty through its own institutions, as outlined in our ministerial agenda.”

He continued, “We’ve also successfully held municipal elections, and we’re preparing for parliamentary elections in less than a year. We plan to submit a proposal to amend certain aspects of the electoral law that need revision.”

He added, “Many of you will be visiting Lebanon in the coming weeks and months, and I’m confident you’ll notice clear improvements—especially along the airport road.”

On the issue of bank deposits, he pointed to the recently passed banking secrecy law, highlighting its importance in distinguishing between legitimate and illicit funds. 

He stressed the need to reform the banking sector, rebuild trust, and establish a clear mechanism to return depositors' money.