Former Prime Minister Saad Hariri is expected to hold a meeting soon with Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat in Paris, An Nahar newspaper reported on Tuesday.

The daily said that the first meeting between the two officials since the government of Hariri was toppled in December 2011 and the formation of a cabinet led by Prime Minister Najib Miqati, is likely to be held on Tuesday.

Former Prime Minister Saad Hariri stressed on Saturday that the visit of Pope Benedict XVI to Lebanon is a major development that will bolster Lebanon’s image as a message of diversity.

“The pope’s visit is a sign for Lebanon the message, as described by late Pope Jean Paul II,” Hariri said in a statement issued by his press office.

Former Prime Minister Saad Hariri lashed out at LBCI channel for broadcasting a report claiming that he received huge financial aid from Saudi Arabia and Qatar.

“This report is completely false,” Hariri’s press office said in a statement on Thursday.

The head of the Independence Movement Michel Mouawad noted on Thursday that the latest developments in Lebanon are aimed at imposing Lebanon under the rule of Hizbullah’s arms and changing its identity by force.

He added during an Independence Movement iftar: “We reject the employment of Zgharta’s name in defending the criminal Syrian regime.”

Hariri: Govt. Has Abandoned its Duties so All Forces Must Rise above Personal Interests to End Division

Former Prime Minister Saad Hariri noted on Friday that Eid al-Fitr arrives in Lebanon this year as it is facing dangers that are threatening its sovereignty and security.

Former Prime Minister Saad Hariri condemned on Thursday the recent kidnapping of Lebanese nationals in Syria and the abduction of Syrians and other nationals in Lebanon.

He said in a statement: “A wrong cannot be solved with another wrong.”

Energy Minister Jebran Bassil accused the Phalange party and the Lebanese Forces on Tuesday of reneging on the decisions reached in Bkirki on an electoral draft-law to satisfy al-Mustaqbal movement chief Saad Hariri and Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblat.

In an interview with al-Akhbar newspaper, Bassil said a draft-law approved by the government “guarantees the right representation and does not eliminate any Christian.”

Former prime minister Saad Hariri on Monday held talks with Saudi King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz in Mecca, in the presence of Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jabr al-Thani, Hariri’s press office said.

Hariri and Sheikh Hamad “had iftar at the table of King Abdullah, in the presence of a large number of Saudi princes, ministers and senior officials,” according to Hariri’s press office.

Progressive Socialist Party leader MP Walid Jumblat has telephoned former prime minister Saad Hariri to discuss the draft electoral law adopted by the government.

Jumblat and Hariri discussed “the draft electoral law adopted by the government and the coordination of stances in parliament,” the Akhbar al-Yawm news agency reported on Friday.

The March 14 opposition alliance, which has severely criticized a new electoral draft-law, is gearing up to reject it in parliament and holding intense meetings to draft a new law in coordination with Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblat, high-ranking opposition sources said.

The sources told An Nahar daily that the March 14 forces will not only work on toppling the draft-law, but will seek through small coordination committees along with centrist Jumblat to work on reaching common points that would form the nucleus of a new draft.