Lebanese MP’s meeting with Trump does not have to be dictated by the Hizbollah matter

The last time Saad Hariri visited the White House, in 2011, he went in as Lebanon’s prime minister and came out as news of his collapsed cabinet broke.

Yesterday, when Mr Hariri met Donald Trump, the Lebanese leader was on a stronger political footing.

“This is an important moment for Mr Hariri and for Lebanon,” said Paul Salem, the vice president for policy analysis and research at the Middle East Institute.

It is significant because recently, “the conversation about Lebanon has mainly come up in reference to Hizbollah or sanctions or refugees, and this is a welcome positive shift”.

Mr Hariri went “prepared with a wide-ranging agenda for the meeting”, sources from the Lebanese delegation said.

They emphasised the economic aspect of the meetings but played down the traditional policy issues with Lebanon relating to Hizbollah and Iran’s influence, and said they did not see Hizbollah as “the elephant in the room”.

After the delegation’s meeting with congress officials on Monday, there was less sense of panic about the new sanction bills, one source said.

“We are not very worried about the upcoming sanctions on Hizbollah,” the source said. “They [congress] have amended the bills to shield Lebanon’s institutions and make this about the party, not the Lebanese infrastructure.”

Mr Salem said the Trump-Hariri meeting “could help mitigate the push for sanctions that could impact the Lebanese banking sector”.

The Lebanese delegation was aware of Mr Trump’s priorities to boost US jobs and economy.

Among the ideas expected to have been raised was “for Lebanon to become a hub for US companies hoping to have a role in reconstruction in Syria”, a delegate said.

Mr Hariri might also raise the subject of oil and gas exploration in Lebanon – an issue that has been stalled for years because of political bickering. Successive US administrations have offered help in offshore exploration and licensing on companies.

The meeting between the US and Lebanese leaders also offers an opportunity to reinforce personal relations.

“It is vital for Mr Hariri to have the US president as something of an ally when it comes to support of Lebanon and the aid to the Lebanese Armed Forces,” Mr Salem said.

The US provides an average of US$80 million (Dh294m) in annual support for the military, but questions relating to budget cuts in the Trump administration and LAF’s relations with Hizbollah are now putting that aid at risk.

Hizbollah being militarily engaged against ISIL and Jabhat Fatah Al Sham “definitely complicates Mr Hariri’s mission, but his mission is de facto complicated by Hizbollah”, Mr Salem said.

In essence, “Mr Hariri can’t give a satisfactory answer on Hizbollah, and there is very little he can say to resolve these concerns but he can highlight other issues in Lebanon, pluralism, new election law, and LAF role”.

For Mr Hariri, the meeting with the US president is already a boost to his reputation, Mr Salem said. “The last time he was in the White House in this capacity, he came in as prime minister, he came out as a private citizen.”

By contrast, and with no likelihood of it happening again. “This meeting could help the Lebanese PM to re-emerge on the world stage, and gives Lebanon a boost in other platforms whether in Europe, the Arab world, Turkey, Russia, China or elsewhere,” he said.

Hariri cannot avoid the question of Hizbollah, but meeting Trump at White House brings him a stateman’s cachet