On Saturday, Lebanon’s newly elected President Joseph Aoun announced that his first foreign visit would be to Saudi Arabia. This was after making a commitment during a congratulatory phone call he received from Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman during which he stated that the Kingdom would be his first port of call internationally.
Earlier this week, Aoun was elected president after winning a simple majority in the second round of parliamentary voting. In the first round, he had won the support of 71 out of 128 lawmakers but did not reach the two-thirds majority of 86 votes. In the second round, Aoun managed to achieve the required 65 votes.
Aoun, after being elected, declared that “today is a new day in Lebanon’s history.” He pledged to work towards rebuilding southern Lebanon and other areas ravaged by wars with Israel, focusing on protecting Lebanon from further Israeli attacks. His presidency starts with Lebanon in its worst economic and political crisis ever.
Lebanon had been without a fully functional government since former President Michel Aoun’s term ended in October 2022. There have been at least 12 rounds of voting that failed to elect a new leader, all frustrated by political deadlock between pro- and anti-Hezbollah factions within the parliament.
