Ambassadors of the United Kingdom, United States of America, Canada, Germany, Netherlands, Deputy Ambassador of Japan and Prime Minister Najib Mikati issued the following statement:

"We, the Ambassadors of the UK, USA, Canada, Germany, Netherlands and Deputy Ambassador of Japan met with his Excellency Prime Minister Najib Mikati on Tuesday 7 March 2023 and together with the Prime Minister we have all agreed on our continued support for transparency and accountability in Lebanon. We confirmed our collective support for the IMPACT oversight platform under Central Inspection. IMPACT’s work is ground-breaking and the first of its kind in Lebanon.

We agreed that Central Inspection has a fundamental role in support of governance practice and ensures compliance with laws and regulations across all government institutions. We rejected misleading media allegations that target UK support in Lebanon and welcomed the support that has enabled the development and implementation of the successful IMPACT platform.

The PM agreed to endorse UK support to Central Inspection by ratifying the Memorandum of Understanding as per Lebanese regulations. We look forward to continued progress on this important agenda."