Salam from Washington: International support must strengthen Lebanon, not create parallel systems

Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said from Washington that international partners should stand by the Lebanese state and work together to move from addressing urgent needs toward supporting recovery and reconstruction, enabling residents of southern Lebanon to return, remain in their communities and rebuild their lives.

Salam said relief, recovery and reconstruction can no longer be treated as successive stages, arguing that in prolonged crises, they must proceed in parallel and complement one another.

“In the south, some families remain displaced while others are returning to their towns and villages and need schools, water, electricity, roads and livelihoods restored,” Salam said. He added that areas that have suffered extensive destruction cannot wait indefinitely for reconstruction to begin.

Salam said international support should strengthen the capacity of the Lebanese state and its institutions to fulfill their responsibilities, rather than create parallel systems.

He added that if relief, recovery, and reconstruction are to proceed in parallel, their funding cannot remain sequential, warning that the end of emergency funding must not create a gap in financing for recovery.