Aoun Meets Diab, Hopes New Govt. Will Restore Lebanon 'Prosperity'

President Michel Aoun on Friday held talks with Prime Minister-designate Hassan Diab, who visited him at the Baabda Palace.

The National News Agency said Diab did not make a statement after the two-hour meeting and that the PM-designate briefed the President on the latest developments pertaining to the government formation process.

Quoting sources informed on the meeting, LBCI TV said the talks tackled "the details and portfolios of the Cabinet and the remaining obstacles."

"Diab is insisting on forming a government of experts composed of only 18 ministers," the sources added.

Other sources meanwhile told al-Jadeed television that "seeing as the meeting lasted two hours, this means that Diab discussed the portfolios and the candidates in detail with Aoun."

"The formation process is still in its beginning and the discussions are still ongoing over candidates and portfolios," the sources added.

Earlier in the day, Aoun hoped that the new government will be able to restore Lebanon’s “prosperity.”

“Today the country is going through very difficult circumstances and an unprecedented crisis, but we hope that the situation will gradually improve and Lebanon will regain its prosperity after the formation of the new government,” Aoun said during a meeting with delegations from the country’s armed forces.

“The economic and financial crisis that we are living dates back to 30 years ago and is not recent. It began when the economy turned into an economy of tourism and services and as debt accumulated without being paid by the state, which plunged it into a major deficit nowadays,” the president added.