Hariri May Submit Line-Up Monday ahead of Thursday's Egypt Visit

Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri will likely visit President Michel Aoun on Monday to hand him a new draft cabinet line-up, media reports said.

The draft will be a last attempt prior to resignation unless Aoun “surprises the PM-designate by accepting it or by considering that it is valid for discussion,” al-Joumhouria newspaper reported on Monday.

Center House sources meanwhile told the daily that Hariri will visit Cairo Thursday for fresh talks with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, two weeks after they held a similar meeting and agreed to continue consultations over the government formation hurdles and the economic and financial crisis.

“It is known that Cairo, like Moscow, is encouraging him to continue in his mission, not to step down,” al-Joumhouria said.

“There’s no doubt that this meeting will give Hariri a dose of moral support at a moment in which the Lebanese file has turned into an international priority amid Western and Arab consultations aimed at preventing any social explosion, providing the necessary humanitarian assistance and opening the door for the government’s formation,” the daily added.