WASHINGTON – This week, U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, led a bipartisan delegation to Lebanon alongside Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and Representative Joe Wilson (R-SC) and met with the Lebanese leaders including President Joseph Auon, Prime Minister Nawaf Salam and Speaker of the Parliament Nabih Berri. The delegation was also accompanied by Ambassador Tom Barrack and Morgan Ortagus.
Ranking Member Shaheen spoke to the press in Beirut, Lebanon, after her meeting with Lebanese President Joseph Aoun, and said, “the United States stands with the people of Lebanon. A secure, stable and thriving Lebanon is in the interest not just of the United States and the Lebanese people, but of the entire region. One of the keys to managing that reality is the full disarmament of Hezbollah ... That is why it's so important to support the bold decisions that the country is making right now: strengthening the Lebanese Armed Forces, who are essential to securing the country's future and borders, and advancing financial reforms that will put Lebanon's economy on a more solid ground ... In Congress, we will continue to press for support through legislation and through the appropriations process." Click HERE to watch the Senator’s full remarks.
Ranking Member Shaheen reinforced to the leaders of Lebanon that the United States is a partner in their efforts for reform and reconstruction. The success of careful and sustained efforts to disarm Hezbollah and root out Iran’s influence will be critical to the long-term prosperity of Lebanon. The United States opposes any attempt to undermine the legitimate government of Lebanon.
Ranking Member Shaheen also met with military leaders including General Rodolphe Haykal, Commander of the Lebanese Armed Forces, and Brigadier General Nicolas Thabet, commander of the South Litani Sector to discuss the security situation in Lebanon and the progress toward fully disarming Hezbollah. Ranking Member Shaheen spoke with prominent Druze leader Walid Jumblatt on the outlook for Lebanon’s relationship with Syria and the future of Lebanon. She engaged with Ministers and Members of the Lebanese Parliament on the progress of economic reforms by the government of Lebanon and the need for strong support for the Lebanese Armed Forces.
Additionally, Ranking Member Shaheen met with the presidents of the Lebanese American University and the American University of Beirut to discuss the status of the Trump Administration’s freezes to scholarship assistance. She emphasized that these institutions are core to our mutual national security and economic prosperity between the United States and Lebanon.
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