Ambassadors of the International Support Group (ISG) for Lebanon and I just had a very good meeting with Prime Minister Tamam Salam. We had earlier this morning met with President Michel Sleiman to prepare for the ISG meeting that is scheduled to take place in Paris on 5 March.
We briefed the Prime Minister on the work of the ISG to mobilize support for Lebanon’s stability, sovereignty and state institutions, and on advocating for assistance to Lebanon in areas where it is most affected by the Syrian crisis. Ambassador Patrice Paoli of France spoke about the ISG meeting that his country will be hosting in early March while Ambassador Guiseppe Morabito of Italy briefed about the conference that his country is planning to host on supporting the Lebanese Army, also in line with the ISG recommendations.
The ISG participants issued a statement on 15 February warmly welcoming the formation of the new government and looking forward to working closely with Prime Minister Salam and his government in the months ahead. The statement highlighted the need for the government to act effectively without delay. I and my colleagues therefore expressed the hope that the current Cabinet discussions on the ministerial statement will soon come to a successful conclusion.