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Asharq Al-Awsat
Asharq Al-Awsat
World
Asharq Al-Awsat

Lebanon PM Says He Will Call Cabinet to Meet Soon

Prime Minister Najib Mikati talks at the presidential palace in Baabda, Lebanon July 26, 2021. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir

Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati said on Friday he will call for a cabinet meeting soon after more than a month of political paralysis.

The Premier, who met Lebanese President Michel Aoun earlier on Friday, pointed out that the country was going through a “difficult and dangerous” phase.

“It is a miracle that the Lebanese citizen hasn’t lost patience yet,” Mikati told a meeting with the labor union, adding that the country could no longer afford to spend on subsidies of vital goods.

Lebanon is in the throes of an economic meltdown described by the World Bank as one of the deepest depressions of modern times.

The local currency has lost 90 percent of its value and three quarters of its population is in poverty.

The cabinet is focused on re-starting talks with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to unlock much needed foreign aid.

It has been in political paralysis since Oct. 12, amid a row over the lead investigator of the August 4, 2020’s deadly Beirut port blast disrupted a meeting.

Mikati had said he would not call for another cabinet meeting until a framework for a solution over the matter was reached.

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