New Lebanese PM Stresses Urgency to Form Cabinet
BEIRUT (Dispatches) – Newly appointed Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri said on Friday that authorities must put all their differences aside to form a cabinet and restore confidence in the country, said a statement by Hariri’s office.
"We should work on restoring confidence between the citizens and the government on one hand and between the government and the international community on the other hand,” Hariri said following parliamentary consultations conducted for the formation of cabinet.
Lebanon named on Thursday Hariri as the new prime minister with 65 votes out of 128 to form a cabinet, one year after the eruption of nationwide protests that led to his resignation.
Hariri assured that he will form a government of specialists to implement reforms.
"We need time to get out of this crisis but we should start with reforms quickly to unlock support by the International Monetary Fund in a bid to stop the country’s deterioration and rebuild Beirut following the port’s blasts,” he said.
Hariri faces major challenges to navigate Lebanon’s sectarian power-sharing politics to agree a cabinet, which must then tackle a list of woes including a banking crisis and currency crash.
Meanwhile, Lebanon’s Amal bloc called for the formation of a government "as fast as possible” after Hariri was nominated to be the next prime minister.
The small Mediterranean country is grappling with its worst economic crisis in decades and still reeling from a colossal port explosion that claimed the lives of 203 people and ravaged large parts of Beirut on August 4.
The devastating blast, which razed the Beirut port to the ground, further injured some 6,500 others.
On Wednesday, Aoun warned that the new premier, the third in a year, would have to spearhead reforms and combat corruption to rescue the crisis-wracked country.
In late August, Mustapha Adib was nominated to form a new government after his predecessor, Hassan Diab, resigned in the aftermath of the gigantic explosion in Beirut.
However, Adib, who had vowed to form a cabinet of experts in line with conditions set by French President Emmanuel Macron, faced resistance from a number of main parties and ultimately stepped down nearly a month later.
"We should work on restoring confidence between the citizens and the government on one hand and between the government and the international community on the other hand,” Hariri said following parliamentary consultations conducted for the formation of cabinet.
Lebanon named on Thursday Hariri as the new prime minister with 65 votes out of 128 to form a cabinet, one year after the eruption of nationwide protests that led to his resignation.
Hariri assured that he will form a government of specialists to implement reforms.
"We need time to get out of this crisis but we should start with reforms quickly to unlock support by the International Monetary Fund in a bid to stop the country’s deterioration and rebuild Beirut following the port’s blasts,” he said.
Hariri faces major challenges to navigate Lebanon’s sectarian power-sharing politics to agree a cabinet, which must then tackle a list of woes including a banking crisis and currency crash.
Meanwhile, Lebanon’s Amal bloc called for the formation of a government "as fast as possible” after Hariri was nominated to be the next prime minister.
The small Mediterranean country is grappling with its worst economic crisis in decades and still reeling from a colossal port explosion that claimed the lives of 203 people and ravaged large parts of Beirut on August 4.
The devastating blast, which razed the Beirut port to the ground, further injured some 6,500 others.
On Wednesday, Aoun warned that the new premier, the third in a year, would have to spearhead reforms and combat corruption to rescue the crisis-wracked country.
In late August, Mustapha Adib was nominated to form a new government after his predecessor, Hassan Diab, resigned in the aftermath of the gigantic explosion in Beirut.
However, Adib, who had vowed to form a cabinet of experts in line with conditions set by French President Emmanuel Macron, faced resistance from a number of main parties and ultimately stepped down nearly a month later.