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The first meeting in Taif was attended by 31 Muslim deputies and 31 Christian deputies. At a second meeting, held on 22nd October, a charter of national reconciliation was endorsed by 58 of the 62 deputies. Probably the most important provision in the agreement was the transfer of power from the President to the Cabinet which allowed for power to be evenly distributed between the Muslim and Christian cabinet members. Following the formation of a new Government all militias in the country were to be disbanded within six months and the Lebanese army was to be strengthened. The Syrian army was to assist in this process.

The Taif Agreement did not immediately solve all Lebanon’s problems. But it is nevertheless the case that, with an extraordinary degree of diplomatic skill, the Tripartite Arab Committee somehow managed to bring together the diverse political interests of almost all the Arab countries and the world’s leading industrial powers in support of a negotiating position that brought the Lebanese civil war which had dragged on for fifteen years to an end.

Lebanon’s troubles were far from over. But at least the foundations of stable Government had been laid and the start of social and economic reconstruction could begin.