The caretaker prime minister, Najib Mikati (center), chairing a meeting of his ministerial team at the Grand Serail, Dec. 5, 2022. (Credit: Dalati & Nohra)
Lebanon's caretaker prime minister, Najib Mikati, will convene the cabinet for a meeting on Friday at 9:30 a.m. to discuss a 29-item agenda.
The cabinet will present a study prepared by the World Bank (WB) of an as-yet unpublished report on the impact of the Syrian crisis on Lebanon. According to details provided by the international organization's press office, which we contacted, this report is quite extensive and is not limited to the issue of displaced Syrians in Lebanon, a subject that has regularly made the headlines since the murder of Lebanese Forces (LF) official Pascal Sleiman in April, for which Syrians were implicated by the Lebanese army.
The caretaker government will also be considering the agriculture minister's request to lodge a complaint against Israel for bombing Lebanese villages on the border and harming the agricultural sector and shepherds while fighting between Israel and Hezbollah has been ongoing since the start of the Gaza war last October.
It will also examine the possibility of granting social assistance in July, August and September to public school contract workers. The cabinet will also look into the presence of chemicals described by some parties as dangerous in the Zouk thermal power plant. On this subject, Mikati stated on Wednesday that these materials were in a “stable state,” “stored appropriately and inspected regularly.”
The justice minister will present a bill to hand over a Franco-Algerian citizen to the French justice system. The finance ministry, meanwhile, will present a draft decree to allow the French giant CMA CGM to obtain shares in two Lebanese companies.
This article originally appeared in French in L'Orient-Le Jour.