Briefs, Blackberries and Brush bys: What Can the G8 Do For Lebanon?

G8 leaders meet today and tomorrow in Northern Ireland, under the UK’s chairmanship.

I’ve been lucky enough to be at five G8 Summits. For foreign policy junkies like me, they are an antidote to usual international conferences. The number at the table is small enough for a crunchy discussion. There is greater proximity to leaders.

There is more time for real rather than scripted discussion, for changes of position, for surprises, for arguments. The settings, as in Lough Erne, are always spectacular, though officials (known as sherpas and yaks) spend more time with eyes on blackberries and briefs than the horizon. There is a greater sense than usual that discussions resonate – Gleneagles, the last time the UK hosted the G8, set the agenda for interaction between those inside the room and the public outside.

But how does what eight leaders in a resort discuss matter for Lebanon?

First, at the symbolic level. I’ve just watched the First and Deputy First Ministers of Northern Ireland welcome President Obama. Northern Ireland’s journey is a strong rebuke to those who do not believe that – with courage and patience – politics can deliver coexistence.

Lebanon can send a similar message, as Walid Joumblatt saw when we visited Belfast together in April. I’ve posted here (Reconciliation and coexistence: five ideas for Lebanon from Northern Ireland) on how we can build on these connections to promote reconciliation.

Second, G8 leaders will debate how best to protect civilians and neighbours from the crisis that rages in Syria, where some Lebanese factions are fighting other people’s wars. Behind the diplatitudes about ‘candid’ or ‘frank’ discussions, this will be a real and spirited exchange, exposing and attempting to bridge deep differences.

I hope it will lead to more significant support to Syrians displaced, and to those in Lebanon hosting them with such generosity. I hope progress is made towards a meaningful political process in Syria, and that those arming the regime reflect on whether that helps or hinders it.

I hope that in the margins (another piece of diplo-jargon), leaders will discuss in bilaterals, brush bys and pull asides (sorry, three more) specific support for Lebanon, especially the army, to prevent further dangerous contagion. I hope G8 leaders will commit to Lebanon’s sovereignty and stability – an international effort on which it should be easier to agree.

Third, the summit’s core issues of trade, tax and transparency (see Arthur Snell’s blogpost) are directly relevant to Lebanon’s future. Lebanon now languishes at 115th of 185 countries on the World Bank’s ‘Doing Business’ index. The UK is using the summit to press partners to join the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI), through which companies publish what they pay and governments what they receive.

As I have argued here, the Lebanese people need EITI if oil/gas reserves are to be a blessing not a curse.

At his first G8 Summit, PM David Cameron impressed his counterparts by swimming in the (I can testify) bracing Musyoka lake. One fellow leader responded by circulating a photo of himself bodybuilding as a young man – blackberries and briefs again. At another summit, the hosts switched off the power to prevent one Head of State from pre-empting their leader’s press conference.

There will be plenty of competition and camaraderie at Lough Erne. For Lebanon’s sake, we will also be pressing for compromise and consensus. Too many summits turn out to be valleys – hopefully not this one.