Syria’s new head of administration Ahmed Al-Sharaa congratulated Joseph Aoun on being elected as president of Lebanon, in a very important step towards regional cooperation. This was reported as taking place through a phone call on Sunday by Syria’s official state news agency, SANA, and later by Anadolu Agency.
In the conversation, Al-Sharaa wished Aoun great success in the new function of leadership and urged the importance of improving the relationship between the neighboring countries. Syrian official underlined by historical and cultural grounds those between Syria and Lebanon as corner stones of peace and joint regional collaboration.
Al-Sharaa underscored the point that interest shared between the nation could strengthen the bond between the two sides. He termed as a constructive dialogue that could embody the effort to increase cooperation in different areas, including trade, security, and stability in the region.
The call comes just after parliament moved with the action of electing Joseph Aoun as the country’s 14th president, ending a long stalemate in Lebanese politics. A two-year leadership vacuum in Lebanon aggravated its already deteriorating political and economic affairs. Aoun won the presidency with 99 votes in the 128-member parliament, thankfully relieving a country starved of political direction.
Lieutenant General Joseph Aoun is a skilled military general with long years of experience in command, and the former head of the Lebanese Armed Forces, a representative who is believed to manage Lebanon’s crises. Domestically and internationally people expect him to restore political leadership and solve the problems that the country is facing.
As per the Lebanon’s constitutional setup, the president is to be a Maronite Christian, the prime minister – Sunni Muslim and the speaker of the parliament – Shia Muslim. This sectarian-political structure is aimed to grant some sort of political voice to all the major religious groups of Lebanon, yet it was hardly ever praised for producing any measure of political stability.
To Syria, the election of Joseph Aoun means the nation has a chance to renegotiate diplomatic relations with Lebanon, which has been rocky in the last few years due to political conflict, as well as the civil war occurring in Syria. Al-Sharaa’s congratulatory message is perhaps signifies political readiness of Syria to cooperate with new leadership in Lebanon.
Observers in the region have pointed out that Al-Sharaa telephone call with Aoun Liberal might open the door for a new round of dialogue on significant topics such as the Syrian refugees living in Lebanon by now and trade relations.
It might still be a long winding road towards better accentuated cooperation, but the dialog between the two leaders is a positive start. Many analysts think that there is much in it for both of them to return to friendly relations given the current state of the global reality that is characterized by common economic and security risks.
The people of Lebanon and Syria will be keenly observant of how this new chapter in the leadership of Lebanon will pan out and the implications that come with it Now, as Joseph Aoun wears the hat of the president of Lebanon, the audience from the two countries will be waiting for more political changes.
