President of the National Dialogue Party, MP Fouad Makhzoumi, hosted British Ambassador Ian Collard and Gavin Tench, Political Officer at the British Embassy, at his residence. The meeting was attended by Mrs. May Makhzoumi, President of the Makhzoumi Foundation, and Dr. Carol Zouein, Political Adviser to MP Makhzoumi. Discussions focused on the situation in Lebanon and the region.

Makhzoumi thanked the United Kingdom for its efforts to support Lebanon and its commitment to maintaining the country’s stability. He emphasized the importance of strengthening and consolidating Lebanese-British relations, noting that the United Kingdom was a partner of the international community in supporting Lebanon as it sought to overcome the ordeal it was enduring.

Makhzoumi renewed his call on the United Kingdom and the international community to stand alongside the Lebanese people, particularly since the new government was not meeting their aspirations. He stressed the need to introduce a genuine recovery and reform program capable of confronting the corrupt political class that had driven Lebanon to ruin, transforming it from the Middle East’s beacon into a country whose streets were shrouded in darkness and whose people were experiencing one of the most difficult periods in its history.

Makhzoumi underscored the importance of holding parliamentary elections on schedule, noting that concerns over a possible postponement were growing. He said that supporting popular pressure to ensure the elections took place was particularly important at this critical juncture, stressing that change was the only genuine path toward rescuing Lebanon’s economy and society.

Makhzoumi and Ambassador Collard also discussed ways to benefit from British expertise in privatization and the protection of state assets. Makhzoumi emphasized the need to balance such measures with economic and social standards that would contribute to sustainable improvements in the country’s economic situation, rather than providing only short-term solutions, as had so often been the case.