The parliamentary delegation visiting the Belgian capital, Brussels, concluded its meetings with officials from the Arab-Belgian-Luxembourg Chamber of Commerce. The delegation includes MPs Fouad Makhzoumi, Raji Al-Saad, Ghassan Skaf, Bilal Abdullah, Bilal Al-Hashimi, Elias Hankash, Elias Estefan, and Adib Abdel Massih, along with Ms. Carol Zouein, Political Advisor to MP Makhzoumi. The visit aims to brief European officials on Lebanon’s current crisis and help the country find a way out of it.

The delegation met with Federal MPs Samuel Cogolati and Nadia El Yousfi; Hubert Cooreman, Director General of the Belgian Foreign Affairs Ministry; David McAllister, Chair of the European Parliament’s Committee on Foreign Affairs; Conrad Van Looy, CEO and Managing Director of the SFPI-FPIM holding company, along with several executives from the Belgian sovereign wealth fund; and Luc Luwel, President of the Flemish Chamber of Commerce, Voka. The delegation also met with officials from the European Union’s Neighbourhood Committee, the Directorate-General for Economic and Financial Affairs, and the Egmont Royal Institute for International Relations.

The delegation began its visit by meeting with the Lebanese community in Belgium. MP Makhzoumi emphasized the important role played by Lebanese expatriates, noting that they help support their families back home while also easing the economic and financial crisis facing Lebanon.

Makhzoumi also reiterated the importance of implementing the reforms demanded by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and reaching an agreement with the Fund. He stressed that such an agreement is an essential prerequisite for reform and the only way to restore the international community’s confidence in Lebanon and rebuild its relations with Saudi Arabia and the Gulf states in general.

He noted that Saudi Arabia has consistently supported Lebanon and, over the past year, provided it with five protective diplomatic frameworks: beginning with the Jeddah Declaration, followed by the Gulf initiative, the New York meeting, the joint Saudi-Egyptian statement, and finally the joint Saudi-Qatari statement. He stressed that these frameworks constitute an international safety net for Lebanon and a roadmap for rescuing it from its crises.

Makhzoumi stressed the need to elect a president of the republic from outside the corrupt political establishment—a sovereign president capable of leading the country toward recovery and committed to a clear and effective reform programme. He noted that state institutions cannot function properly without a president and a prime minister who meet the same criteria and place the implementation of reforms and the conclusion of an agreement with the IMF at the top of their priorities.