Salam Stresses Commitment to Dissociation Policy at Arab Summit

Prime Minister Tammam Salam reiterated on Saturday Lebanon's commitment to the dissociation policy and called for distancing Lebanon from the region's conflicts.

He announced his stance at the Arab summit that was held at the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh.

Salam held several meetings with Arab leaders on the sidelines of the summit, including Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi.

Sisi welcomed at the opening session of the Arab Summit the dialogue between the Lebanese rivals, calling for swift election of a new head of state.

For his part, U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon considered that Lebanon is a unique example on averting repercussions imposed by Syria's war.

“Its is an model for coexistence,” Ban said, calling on rivals to overcome their disagreements.

Salam is heading a ministerial delegation compromised of Interior Minister Nouhad al-Mashnouq and Labor Minister Sejaan Qazzi.

He was joined by Foreign Minister Jebaran Bassil who was already there to take part in the Arab Foreign Ministers meeting on Thursday.

Foreign ministers gathered in Sharm el-Sheikh ahead of the summit on Thursday and agreed on a broad plan for establishing a joint military force. It came as Saudi Arabia and its allies opened a campaign of airstrikes in Yemen against Iranian-backed Shiite Huthi rebels who have taken over much of the country and forced its U.S.- and Gulf-backed president Abedrabbo Mansour to flee abroad.

The emir of Kuwait, the kings of Jordan and Bahrain, presidents of Tunisia and the Palestinian Authority, the speaker of Libya's internationally recognized parliament and Ban are among other leaders who attend the two-day gathering.

The summit is being held under tight security, with extra police and army deployed on the streets of what is normally a tourist resort and with military aircraft patrolling its skies.

Bassil stressed during Thursday's preparatory meeting for the 26th Arab Summit that Lebanon abides by its “dissociation policy” towards regional conflicts.

Lebanese rivals adopted in 2012 during a national dialogue session the Baabda Declaration, which calls for Lebanon to distance itself from regional crises, most notably the one in Syria.