Lebanese President Michel Sleiman left the Baabda Presidential Palace on Saturday at the end of his constitutional mandate. President Sleiman had earlier declared that he presented suggestions to amend the Constitution, which will be handed over to the new president, giving the legislative authority the right to dissolve the Parliament once when need be.
Sleiman noted that he tackled several national matters, including the issue of the Palestinian weapons outside the refugee camps, pointing out that the dialogue committee can discuss any subject approved by the parties.
In his farewell speech delivered at the Baabda Presidential Palace, the president stressed that presidential vacuum may threaten the order of the political life, especially when the vacuum is intentional and results from internal divisions or caused by some powers that hinder any chance of institutional stability.
He also stressed that the dialogue opens the door for discussions in all national issues and guarantees stability, adding that along the six years he served as president, he was keen on avoiding fragmentation and fighting among the Lebanese people. In this context, he recalled that the statement issued following the latest dialogue session stressed the need to implement the Taef Agreement.
On another note, Sleiman said that Lebanon built diplomatic relations with Syria, stressing the need to improve the cooperation between both countries’ embassies and to review the agreements reached between them in order to eliminate all kinds of confusions. On the issue of oil, Sleiman called for enabling Lebanon to extract its oil wealth and to adopt partnership between private and public sectors.
President Sleiman said that what brings the Lebanese people together is much stronger than what splits them apart, stressing that divisions within the Lebanese community are nothing but the result of foreign influence.
"The six past years were free of any Israeli occupation, Syrian presence or damaging war," he continued, adding that the Lebanese Armed Forces realized remarkable achievements in fighting terrorism and dismantling spying networks. To watch Hoda Chedid's report, please click on the video above.