Ministerial statement drafting committee to resume its meetings on Thursday

The ministerial statement drafting committee is set to resume its meetings on Thursday evening.           

The committee, which was formed Tuesday by the Lebanese cabinet, held its first session on Wednesday at the Grand Serail under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Tammam Salam.        

The session was attended by State Minister for Parliamentary affairs Mohammad Fneish, Finance Minister Ali Hassan Khalil, Health Minister Wael Abou Faour, Labor Minister Sajaan Azzi, Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil, Interior Minister Nouhad Machnouq and Telecommunications Minister Boutros Harb.                        

"The People-Army-Resistance formula was not tackled in the meeting held at the Grand Serail," sources told LBCI.     

Interior Minister Nouhad Machnouq also stressed that "there won't be any controversial item in the ministerial statement, adding that a consensual statement will be agreed upon".

A caretaker government has run the country since former Prime Minister Najib Mikati resigned in March as parties aligned with the Shi'ite Hezbollah movement and a Sunni-led rival bloc pursued a power struggle exacerbated by their support for opposing sides in Syria's almost three-year-old civil war.