United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has said the international community will stand behind Lebanon “for what we believe will be a rapid recovery of this country, once again making it the center of the Middle East.”
The UN chief made the comments on Saturday (January 18, 2025) following a meeting in Beirut with Lebanon’s newly elected president Joseph Aoun.
A new prime minister was also named to form the government following Aoun’s election last week.
Lebanon had been without a president for 26 months, as part of internal divisions in the small nation.
Guterres said appointing a president and prime minister allows for consolidating Lebanese institutions and deploying the Lebanese army throughout the country, including areas from where Israeli troops will withdraw.
“As soon as the conflict ends, reconstruction begins,” Guterres said.
The US-brokered ceasefire is an attempt to end the war between Israel and Hezbollah that has killed more than 4,000 people and injured more than 16,000 in Lebanon.
Part of the agreement is that Hezbollah will withdraw from the border area with Israel and only Lebanese troops and UN peacekeepers will be allowed to have an armed presence along the Israeli border.
Published – January 18, 2025 05:07 pm IST
