French President Emmanuel Macron will host Lebanon's Prime Minister Nawaf Salam on Friday afternoon to discuss, among other things, the fragile ceasefire agreement with Israel and the continued disarmament of Hezbollah.
Salam, who has been in office for less than a year and is visiting Macron for the second time, is expected at the Elysée Palace at 5pm.
Macron "will reiterate his commitment to full compliance with the ceasefire by all parties and will stress the need for the Lebanese authorities to embark on the second phase of the plan aimed at ensuring the state's sole control of weapons and the full restoration of its sovereignty", the French presidency said.
Despite a ceasefire that ended the war with Hezbollah in November 2024, the Israeli army continues to carry out strikes in southern and eastern Lebanon. It claims to be targeting the pro-Iranian group, which Israel accuses of rearming.
The Lebanese army said in early January that it had completed the first phase of its plan to disarm Hezbollah, clearing the area between the Israeli border and the Litani River, some 30 kilometres further north.
The army is due to gradually apply the disarmament plan to the rest of the country, starting with the entire southern region.
But Hezbollah refuses to surrender its weapons north of the river, saying the agreement does not apply there, and accuses Israel of repeatedly violating the ceasefire.
France's Macron hails UN decision to extend peacekeeping mission in Lebanon
'France's full support'
According to the president's office, Macron "will reaffirm France's full support for the Lebanese Armed Forces, a pillar of national sovereignty and stability, ahead of the international conference in support of Lebanon's sovereignty to be held in Paris on 5 March".
The conference is intended to raise funds for Lebanon's army and police, which lack resources for the fight against Hezbollah.
The two heads of state "will also discuss the pursuit of economic and financial reforms essential to consolidating Lebanon's sovereignty and restoring its prosperity", the Élysée added.
Five years after Beirut port explosion, justice and recovery remain elusive
The Lebanese government approved a bill at the end of December aimed at creating a mechanism to return depositors' funds wiped out in the country's financial meltdown in 2019, which is estimated to have caused losses totalling about $70 billion.
The collapse followed decades of corruption, financial mismanagement and profiteering.
France has offered to host a second international conference on Lebanon "dedicated to the country’s reconstruction and economic recovery", the Foreign Ministry said after talks between Salam and Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot on Thursday.
(with newswires)
