BEIRUT: Lebanon’s prime minister-designate Saad Hariri said there is a “chance” to form a government after he met President Michel Aoun on Thursday.
The two leaders, who engaged in a war of words a day earlier, will meet again on Monday.
Hariri’s comments come as Lebanon’s economy continues to collapse after years of political mismanagement and growing public anger. The Lebanese pound has sunk by 90 percent, plunging many people into poverty.
Hariri said he discussed with Aoun the issue of forming a cabinet of 18 ministers and specialists to help save the country “because eventually the main goal of such a cabinet is to stop the economic collapse that we face today.”
Speaking to the media at the Presidential Palace in Baabda outside Beirut, he added: “I listened to his (Aoun) remarks and we decided to meet on Monday to come out with something clear about the expected government in front of the Lebanese people.”
Monday’s meeting will hold “major responses in terms of how we should form a government as soon as possible,” the Prime minister-designate said.
He said the main goal of a government is to work with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and restore the international community’s trust. The Lebanese currency was deteriorating steeply by the day, he said.
He said the main reason behind this current economic collapse, and the drastic devaluation of the currency, is the lack of vision from a government.
On Wednesday, Aoun made a televised address calling on Hariri to form a new cabinet immediately or stand aside.
Hariri said his meeting on Thursday should wipe away the perception that they had been involved in a major confrontation.
Lebanon President Aoun asks PM designate Hariri to form government or leaveHariri meets with Aoun in fresh government-forming bid