Hariri Heads to Jeddah for Talks on Latest Saudi Grant

Head of al-Mustaqbal Movement and former premier MP Saad Hariri headed to Jeddah on Wednesday to discuss with Saudi officials the latest grant to Lebanese security forces.

In a statement issued by his press office, Hariri is expected to hold talks with senior Saudi officials concerning ways to spend the financial grant.

Hariri made a surprise return to Lebanon last week after three years abroad.

His trip follows his announcement that Saudi Arabia, one of his chief allies, would give $1 billion to shore up the army and security forces against jihadists.

Meanwhile, al-Liwaa newspaper reported on Wednesday that Hariri is expected to meet a delegation from the Syndicate Coordination Committee during the upcoming hours.

It isn't clear when Hariri will return to Lebanon and if his visit to Jeddah will be short.

On Tuesday, the SCC held a protest near the education ministry as part of a general strike aimed at pressuring lawmakers to approve the public sector wage scale.

A dispute erupted at the protest site between the teachers in favor of correcting the exams and others rejecting to do so.

In June, Bou Saab struck a deal with the SCC to hold the exams but not correct them until the salary scale was approved by the parliament.

Although parliamentary blocs have expressed their support for the public sector's rights, they have warned that Lebanon's ailing economy would suffer if the total funding was not reduced from LL2.8 trillion ($1.9 billion) to LL1.8 trillion ($1.2 billion).

They have also disagreed on how to raise taxes to fund the scale over fears of inflation and its affect on the poor.

H.K.

G.K.