Lebanese PM to convene Cabinet within days for first time since October
January 5, 2022, 3:41 pm

Lebanese PM to convene Cabinet within days for first time since October

Najib Mikati-Lebanese Prime Minister/Facebook page

The Arab News reported that Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati said Wednesday he will convene the Cabinet within days for the first time in nearly three months, potentially ending a standoff that has paralyzed the government during a financial crisis.

“We will convene Cabinet as soon as it receives the (2022) budget,” Mikati said following a meeting with President Michel Aoun, adding this should happen “within the next two days.”

The Arab News said that the powerful Iran-backed Hezbollah group and its ally the Amal movement have refused to allow the Cabinet to meet since Oct. 12, demanding the removal of a judge investigating the devastating 2020 explosion in Beirut port. Mikati has said the executive branch has no say in the matter.

The failure of Cabinet to meet has prevented measures to address a crisis described by international bodies as one of the most severe financial meltdowns in world history. The national currency hit an all-time low of 30,000 pounds to the US dollar overnight Wednesday — a 95 percent loss compared to its value in 2019.

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Mikati said approval of the 2022 budget by Cabinet and parliament — already delayed — was a main demand of the International Monetary Fund amid talks for a support program seen as key to Lebanon’s economic recovery.

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He said: “I think that (the Cabinet’s) agenda and the presence of the budget makes it more than necessary for Cabinet to meet, and I don’t think anyone will fall short on their national (duties)."

Source: arabnews

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BENEFIT, the Kingdom’s innovator and leading company in Fintech and electronic financial transactions service, has sponsored the BuildHer CityHack 2025 Hackathon, a two-day event spearheaded by the College of Engineering and Technology at the Royal University for Women (RUW).
Aimed at secondary school students, the event brought together a distinguished group of academic professionals and technology experts to mentor and inspire young participants.
More than 100 high school students from across the Kingdom of Bahrain took part in the hackathon, which featured an intensive programme of training workshops and hands-on sessions. These activities were tailored to enhance participants’ critical thinking, collaborative problem-solving, and team-building capabilities, while also encouraging the development of practical and sustainable solutions to contemporary challenges using modern technological tools.
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Professor Riyadh Yousif Hamzah, President of the Royal University for Women, commented: “This initiative reflects our commitment to advancing women in STEM fields. We're cultivating a generation of creative, solution-driven female leaders who will drive national development. Our partnership with BENEFIT exemplifies the powerful synergy between academia and private sector in supporting educational innovation.”
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