Khalil Urges Referral of Budget to Parliament, Fneish Urges Export via Syria

Finance Minister Ali Hassan Khalil on Friday stressed that it is necessary to “refer the (2020) state budget to Parliament within a week,” in order to respect the constitutional deadline.

Sport and Youth Minister Mohammed Fneish of Hizbullah meanwhile said his party and its allies have tackled the issue of exporting via Syria’s al-Boukamal border crossing “from an economic angle, which is how Lebanon can benefit from this border crossing.”

“We have a chance to export to Iraq and slash transport costs,” he added.

The ministers voiced their remarks ahead of a meeting for a ministerial committee tasked with approving economic reforms.

Deputy Prime Minister Ghassan Hasbani of the Lebanese Forces meanwhile said the LF will call for “revoking the 5,000 administrative appointments that were made in violation of the law.”

“But it seems that the other parties are not enthusiastic to do so,” he added.