According to a statement by the Lebanese presidency, President Michel Aoun and Prime Minister-designate Najib Mikati signed a decree in the presence of Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri to form a new government, thus ending months of political deadlock.
Lebanon’s Council of Ministers has set September 13 as the date for the government’s first session.
Commenting on the move, Lebanon’s PM-designate said his government will draw up a “rescue plan for the country as soon as possible” and expressed his hope to stop the economic collapse.
This came in statements reported by Lebanese media following the announcement of the formation of the new government consisting of 24 ministers after a government vacuum that lasted for 13 months.
“I promise the Lebanese people that we will work with a national principle, and we are not with one group against another, and I will not miss an opportunity to knock on the doors of the Arab world,” Mikati said.
Mikati also pledged to hold the parliamentary elections as slated for May 8.
Earlier on Friday, two sources close to the Lebanese presidency expressed that Mikati will present a proposal to form a new government to Aoun at the Baabda Presidential Palace.
On July 26, Aoun assigned the three-time Prime Minister to form the government after Saad al-Hariri and Mustafa Adib apologized for not completing the task due to differences between the political forces. The Mikati government will succeed the caretaker government, which resigned six days after the Beirut Port explosion on August 4 last year.
For nearly two years, Lebanon has been afflicted by the worst economic crisis in its history, which led to a financial collapse and a decline in foreign exchange, reflected in shortages of fuel, medicines, and other basic commodities. Political differences have prevented the formation of a government that can put an end to the economic collapse and succeed the caretaker government headed by Hassan Diab.
