Hezbollah delegation visits Patriarch Rai

A delegation of Hezbollah presided by Vice President of the party's Political Council Mahmoud Qomati visited on Wednesday Bkerke for a meeting with Maronite Patriarch Bechara Rai.

 

Following the meeting, Qomati said that all sides involved in the Cabinet formation are "serious," asserting that there are no foreign obstacles hindering the formation process.

 

“A flaw happened during the last formation attempt and the flaw is being addressed,” he noted.

 

Qomati also expected that the Cabinet would see the light soon because “the intentions of everyone are positive.”

 

He concluded by stressing that the relationship between Hezbollah and the Free Patriotic Movement “is at its best.”

Lebanese politicians have been unable to agree a new government since a general election in May as rival parties have
competed over the allocation of cabinet positions, further unsettling the country's fragile economy.
 
On Tuesday, Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri said he and President Michel Aoun had met and were "determined to form a government", state news agency NNA reported.
 
A breakthrough to create a national unity government in line with Lebanon's sectarian power-sharing system seemed close last month, but it did not work out and the deadlock resumed.

 

However, Hariri said on Sunday he still believed the government would form early in the new year.
 
The lack of a government has caused particular concern because Lebanon faces both structural economic problems and regional instability.
 
Lebanon has the world's third-highest level of debt to GDP and Finance Minister Ali Hassan Khalil said on Sunday it faces an economic crisis that he warned could turn into a financial one.
 
Hariri has pledged to carry out economic reforms that could unlock billions of dollars of international investment in Lebanese power, transport and data infrastructure, aimed at boosting the economy after years of weak growth.
 
The International Monetary Fund has stressed the importance of Lebanon putting its debt on a sustainable footing, while bond yields and the cost of insuring against Lebanese sovereign debt have shown signs of stress in recent months.
 
Last month, Israel uncovered several tunnels it said Hezbollah had dug under the border, adding to tensions between the countries some 12 years after Israel and Hezbollah fought a war on Lebanese soil.
 
The latest hitch in efforts to form a government came over Sunni Muslim representation in the cabinet. Hariri said on Tuesday that only one difficulty remained and that he and Aoun were working to solve it.

 

 

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