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BEIRUT, Oct. 22 (Xinhua) – Lebanese Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri announced on Thursday that he will quickly form a “government of non-partisan specialists”, emphasizing his determination to “stop the collapse that threatens the country.”
In a short statement he read after his meeting with President Michel Aoun, who assigned him the task of forming the government, Hariri said: “First I will focus on forming the government quickly, because time is running out and the opportunity for our beloved country is the only and last. “
“It will form a government of non-partisan specialists whose mission is to implement the economic, financial and administrative reforms contained in the French initiative document, which the main blocks of Parliament committed to support the government in its implementation.”
Hariri addressed the Lebanese saying: “I speak to the Lebanese, who are suffering to the point of despair, that I am determined to fulfill my promise to them to work to stop the collapse that threatens our economy, society and security, and to rebuild what was destroyed by the terrible port explosion in Beirut. “
Earlier today, Lebanese President Michel Aoun appointed Saad Hariri to form the new government, according to the Directorate General of the Lebanese Presidency.
Hariri’s mandate to form the government came after he was nominated by 65 of the 118 MPs who participated in the binding parliamentary consultations conducted by the Lebanese president, a majority that allowed him to form, while 53 MPs appointed no one to form the government.
After his assignment, Hariri replaced him for “security reasons” by taking a traditional phone tour with former prime ministers, according to a statement issued by Hariri’s office.
The statement said Hariri “agreed with the former prime ministers to settle for exceptional telephone inquiries for security reasons, and that they wished him success in his duties to form a government to stop the collapse and rebuild what was destroyed by the explosion of the port of Beirut “last August.
Hariri will hold non-binding parliamentary consultations with the parliamentary blocs on Friday afternoon on the form and nature of government and the demands of the parliamentary blocs.
The Future Movement, led by Hariri, said in a statement that, with Hariri’s assignment, a new page had been opened, titled “Work for Salvation, Stop Collapse and Reconstruction.”
The movement called on its followers to “be aware of what comes after this spirituality and express it in a way that takes into account the delicate conditions that the country is going through, politically, socially and healthily.”
The movement urged its followers to “obey the laws in force and refrain from any action that contradicts these considerations.”
Hariri had recently announced that he was a candidate to head the government within the principles of the French initiative, and that he intended to form a government of specialists that would put the reforms on the road to implementation in 6 months.
French President Emmanuel Macron visited Lebanon in August and September and presented to the political forces an initiative to halt the collapse and reconstruction, including the formation of a government to carry out the economic, financial and monetary reforms agreed upon by all the parts.
Hariri previously formed two governments, the first in 2009 under President Michel Suleiman and the second in 2016 under President Michel Aoun, who resigned on October 29 under pressure from popular protests that raised economic and political demands.
Lebanon is experiencing a severe economic and financial crisis, reflected in the shortage of foreign exchange and the collapse of the value of the lira, restrictions on the withdrawal of deposits from banks, and the cessation of payment of external and internal debts, which was seen aggravated by the repercussions of the outbreak of the new Coronavirus (Covid-19) in the country.
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