Even if the joint Saudi-Qatari-French-US meeting in mid-January resulted in the election of a president, the solution is not there; it is with a president who has a vision and is ready to adopt modern Arabism, journalist and MENA Geopolitics Center Director Naufal Daou told LBCI on Friday morning.
Daou added that if a president is elected, he should form a government and fly directly to the GCC countries to confirm that Lebanon is their partner and that he is carrying a vision for the country, and then signs tens of MoUs in all fields.
Daou stressed that Lebanon needs a president to join modern Arabism and globalism; “there is no self-distancing between prosperity and destruction.”
“We are not sieged, we can fly anywhere, and we have isolated ourselves; we joined the Iranian camp; whenever we take the decision to join the prosperous camp, to join new and modern Arabism, whenever we are real and serious, the Arabs will be supportive,” Daou added.
Daou mentioned that Saudi Arabia has always been ready to help Lebanon; “in the concluding statement of every other summit, there is mention of Lebanon under the pretext of implementing and preserving Taef and UN resolutions.”
“The Saudis clearly sent the Lebanese a message when they invited Mikati recently to the recent summits; it clearly means that Saudi Arabia is ready to partner with Lebanon, and the issue is at our end, not theirs,” Daou mentioned.
Daou added that the current Saudi Iranian talk and if it progresses, may not affect Lebanon in any way.
“Why is there no political leader who directly addressed the Saudis and asked them to discuss the Lebanese file upfront with Iran so that we benefit from any talk,” Daou questioned.
Daou added that the New Arab System is the only thing capable of reaching out to the world.
“The Arabs clearly said we are the US’s allies, yet we are not submissive; we are friends with the Russians but not part of their wars; we are partners with China but not part of its global economic war; we are friends with Europe without the imposition of its culture on our societies. This is neutrality,” Daou commented.
Daou linked the above to the neutrality brought forward by the Maronite Patriarch, stressing that it is a copy of the neutrality brought forward by the GCC in their current foreign diplomacy.
“The issue in Lebanon is the lack of vision; the political vacuum is not filled with a person; it is filled with a vision,” Daou added.
Daou also added that oil and gas are not a solution for Lebanon. In comparison, he stressed that Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 is solely based on building an economy without gas and oil, and the world no longer needs oil, adding that the GCC countries are leading a fourth global technological revolution.
“Lebanon was leading in the 1800s and 1900s, and the migration from Lebanon was the first to respond to globalism. In every other GCC country, there is an astronomy and space-related foundation or organization; Lebanon, in the 1960s, was leading in the region. Where is Lebanon today,” Daou questioned.
Lack of political vision in Lebanon
Naufal focused that Lebanon is facing an existential crisis in terms of political vision and narrative, and “we are still in the same loophole since the 1920s.”
“All Lebanese political parties are stuck in old ideological political identities, whether the Lebanese identity, the Syrian identity, or pan-Arabism; even the post-civil war political parties are still based on one of those ideas,” Daou added.
Naufal added that the world is no longer ideological.
“How did the Arabs respond to Islamophobia? They responded with human brotherhood; the Arabs were able to plan multiple successful religious summits, one of which brought together Pope Francis and the Grand Imam of al-Azhar,” Daou added.
Daou restressed that the only way Lebanon may witness change is through a shift in vision and mentality, “the same people in power can do it if they have the will, and if you bring in new faces to power with a traditional political vision, they will fail.”
Daou added that Lebanese politicians need to envision a new Lebanon the same way the leaders of Saudi Arabia and the UAE envisioned their future; “this is the only way Lebanon can witness real change.”
“The priority today is to set an identity for Lebanon; if we want to build a new port, will it be for exporting illicit products or to be part of globalization,” Daou asked.
“The Lebanese need to tell their leader what country they envision; in particular, the Shia community needs to do this exercise in a similar manner to how other components assessed their political choices,” Daou added.
Hezbollah and Iran
Daou discussed Iran’s influence in Lebanon; he added that what will result in Lebanon’s liberation from Iran is a clear vision.
“The issue is not the Iranian project in Lebanon; it’s the lack of the counter vision. The fight with Hezbollah cannot be through another militia, and the Gulf did not fight Iran with drones; it fought Iran with prosperity. It is a fight between destruction and construction,” Daou added.
Daou stressed that if Hezbollah was honest about a vision of looking Eastwards, today, the country leading cooperation with the East is Saudi Arabia.
“Lebanon needs to be a partner of Saudi Arabia. Lebanon needs to join the new Arab system, and we do not need to join the council. Egypt has signed hundreds of MoUs, on 6+1 bases with the GCC; why cannot Lebanon join in the same manner, a 6+2 model,” Daou added.
“We need to integrate Lebanon into the new Arab and global system. There is no siege on Lebanon; the market is open; if anyone Lebanese has a vision for any project, Saudi Arabia’s doors are open. Today instead of joining the 4th technological revolution, we are living off aid,” Daou added.