On Friday, Commissioner for the Mediterranean, Dubravka Šuica, visited Lebanon on her first mission to the Middle East. This visit reaffirmed the EU’s strong support for the political momentum in Lebanon and served as an opportunity to advance broad consultations on the New Pact for the Mediterranean.

Commissioner Šuica met with the new political leadership, President of Lebanon, Joseph Aoun; the Prime Minister of Lebanon, Nawaf Salam; the Speaker of Lebanese Parliament, Nabih Berri, as well as the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Youssef Raji.

• Commissioner Šuica expressed EU’s support for the country’s political transition and welcomed Lebanon’s new leadership, which will help shaping the New Pact for the Mediterranean. This will serve as a basis for discussions on a new Strategic and Comprehensive Partnership with Lebanon.
• Commissioner recalled the EU support to Lebanon and its people which, between 2021 and 2025, amounted to €1.5 billion, supporting emergency response measures, people-centred recovery, and critical reforms.
• The Commissioner also discussed ongoing and new priorities for implementing additional EU support packages, underlining the EU’s readiness to step up engagement with Lebanon, particularly in the areas of economic and governance reforms and national recovery.
• Commissioner recalled that this year we are planning to have an Association Council to relaunch the political relationship with Lebanon.

This visit is part of a series of high-level consultations led by Commissioner Šuica to shape the New Pact for the Mediterranean, developed in close cooperation with Mediterranean partners and EU Member States. The Pact aims to address shared challenges, foster people-to-people relations, drive economic growth and enhance regional security.