Prime Minister Najib Mikati speaks with Italian Defense Minister Lorenzo Guerini. (Credit: Dalati and Nohra)
BEIRUT — Prime Minister Najib Mikati reassured the Lebanese people Friday that efforts are underway to reunite the Lebanese government. His cabinet has not met since Oct. 12.
Here's what we know:
• In a Christmas message to the Lebanese people, the state-run National News Agency cites Mikati as saying, "We are determined to overcome all obstacles to reunite the government and continue the efforts we have started to deploy to put Lebanon back on the path of recovery and rescue."
• Mikati has not convened his government, which was formed on Sept. 10, in more than two months, over fears that Amal Movement and Hezbollah affiliated ministers would walk out of or boycott any scheduled cabinet session over disagreement about the future of Judge Tarek Bitar's leadership of the investigation into the 2020 Beirut port explosion.
• Hezbollah is pushing for Bitar's dismissal from the probe, while Amal wants his jurisdiction in the case to exclude the prosecution of political figures implicated in the case; the cases of such figures would instead go before the Supreme Council, a judicial body established to try ministers and presidents.
• On Friday, Mikati also met with Italian Defense Minister Lorenzo Guerini in Beirut.
• The NNA reported that Mikati affirmed to Guerini that Lebanon "respects Security Council resolution 1701 and all the other resolutions on this plan," with reference to the cessation of hostilities between Lebanon and Israel after the July 2006 war. Mikati then thanked Italy for its "constant support for Lebanon on all fronts" and its participation in UNIFIL, the United Nations peacekeeping force in Lebanon.
• For his part, Guerini said that "Lebanon has an important place in the eyes of Italy and the Italian presence within UNIFIL reinforces that." He recalled that four high-ranking Italian officers have led the peacekeeping force, with the Italian general Stefano del Col presently the force commander.
• Guerini also underlined that Rome "supports the Lebanese prime minister and the efforts made to put in place the reforms required to deal with the situation in Lebanon." Lebanon is mired in a more than 2-year-old economic crisis, which has pushed almost four-fifths of its population into poverty. The international community has long called for these reforms and has conditioned any financial assistance to the country on the implementation of such changes.
• "Lebanon can entirely count on Italy to support it at the level of negotiations with the International Monetary Fund and any other international institution concerned," the Italian minister added. Negotiations between Beirut and the IMF for a financial rescue package remain in their preliminary stages under Mikati's government having broken down completely under the previous government.
• Mikati and Guerini met in the presence of the Italian Ambassador to Lebanon Nicoletta Bombardiere.
• According to the Italian Embassy, the Italian defense minister is also scheduled to meet with his Lebanese counterpart, Maurice Slim, and inspect the Italian UNIFIL contingent in the south of the country.