Joseph Aoun meets Saudi crown prince seeking reset of relations, Riyadh’s help

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun, on his first trip abroad since taking office, met on Monday with Saudi Arabia’s de facto ruler Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Riyadh, Saudi state media said. 

Aoun, a former army chief seen as close to Riyadh and Washington, was elected on January 9, ending a more than two-year power vacuum amid a crippling political and economic crisis. 

The Lebanese president was expected to seek a reset of bilateral relations in a way that boots Saudi help to his country’s in handling its multitude of problems, starting with its daunting economic difficulties. 

It remains to be seen however in what way Saudi Arabia plans to gear its new policies in Lebanon after years of staying away from the country because of the disproportionate influence there of the pro-Iran Hezbollah. 

Lebanese analysts say their country does not however seek to exchange Iran’s and Hezbollah’s sway for Saudi control over their decisions. 

His election was made possible by the weakening of Lebanon’s Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah during a devastating war with Israel. 

The official Saudi Press Agency said Aoun met with Prince Mohammed for “talks,” without elaborating. 

The Lebanese presidency earlier posted on X a message from Aoun, saying he was looking “forward with great hope to the talks I will hold with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman this evening.” 

Aoun said he hoped the discussions would “pave the way for a later visit in which agreements strengthening cooperation between the two brotherly countries will be signed,” according to a statement from the presidency. 

Ties between Lebanon and Saudi Arabia had been strained for years. In 2016, Riyadh halted $3 billion in military aid to the Lebanese army, citing the political influence of Hezbollah. 

Aoun told Saudi newspaper Asharq Al-Awsat on Friday that he would “seek, if possible, to reactivate military aid.” 

The president added that he chose Saudi Arabia as his first destination because of its “historic links” with Lebanon and its role as a regional and global player. 

“I hope and expect that Saudi Arabia will help us reset relations in the interest of both countries and overcome recent obstacles,” he said. 

He voiced hopes of “building normal economic ties,” saying Lebanon could align with “Vision 2030”, Riyadh’s initiative to diversify its economy beyond oil. 

“This would allow the Saudis to return to their second home, Lebanon, while Lebanese look forward to reconnecting with Saudi Arabia,” he said. 

Saudi Arabia once spent billions in Lebanon, depositing funds in the central bank, helping to rebuild the south after the 2006 Hezbollah-Israel war, and supporting several Lebanese politicians, only to see Hezbollah grow more powerful with Iran’s support and its influence spread across the Middle East. 

But recent months have seen seismic political shifts in the region, with Israel pummelling Iran-backed Hezbollah last year and Hezbollah’s Syrian ally Bashar al-Assad toppled in December. 

“I hope and I await from Saudi Arabia, and especially the crown prince, to correct the relationship in the interests of both countries,” Aoun said during his interview, saying he hoped for strengthened economic and political ties. 

Lebanon faces a huge reconstruction bill following a year of Israeli strikes on the country, but Lebanese officials and diplomats say foreign support, including from the Gulf, is contingent on Beirut enacting long-awaited financial reforms. 

Aoun said Lebanon was committed to those reforms but hoped that the reconstruction aid in turn would come “step by step” to allow for rebuilding so that Lebanese displaced from destroyed villages in the south could return home. 

Aoun pledged upon taking office to usher in a new era in which the Lebanese state would have a “monopoly on weapons.” 

Aoun has also promised a “policy of positive neutrality” and “the best possible relations with brotherly Arab countries.” 

He has also received an invitation from Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi to participate in an urgent Arab summit on Gaza to be held in Cairo on Tuesday, according to the Lebanese presidency.