Miqati 'Determined' to Call for Cabinet Session

Prime Minister Najib Miqati is “determined” to call for a Cabinet session dedicated to discussing the 2022 draft state budget, which should be finalized by the Finance Ministry in the coming days, a media report said on Sunday.

Sources close to Miqati told ad-Diyar newspaper that the premier is “closely following up on the Finance Ministry’s efforts to finalize the draft state budget, which has become in its final stages.”

“He will meet with Finance Minister Youssef al-Khalil ahead of the submission of the draft to the Premiership,” the sources added.

“Once this happens, PM Miqati will call for a Cabinet session aimed at discussing the state budget and his decision is final, regardless of who will attend or boycott the session,” the sources said.

Miqati, however, “hopes that all parties will attend this important and necessary session,” the sources went on to say.

Miqati’s newly-formed Cabinet has not convened since October 14 due to a dispute over the work of Beirut port blast investigator Judge Tarek Bitar, with Hizbullah and the Amal Movement demanding that the government take action to remove him over alleged bias. Other political forces, including President Michel Aoun and Miqati, have meanwhile said that they reject “political interference” in judicial affairs.