Najib Mikati speaks at a press conference after being re-appointed as Lebanon's prime minister at the Baabda Palace in Beirut, Lebanon, on June 23, 2022. (Xinhua/Bilal Jawich)
"We should continue with reforms to save our nation," said Najib Mikati after being re-appointed as Lebanon's prime minister for the fourth time.
BEIRUT, June 23 (Xinhua) -- Najib Mikati, re-appointed as Lebanon's prime minister-designate by the president, on Thursday called on all Lebanese parties to put aside differences and cooperate to put Lebanon on the right path of recovery.
"I call on all parties to cooperate and continue necessary reform measures to put Lebanon on the right path for long-awaited solutions," Mikati said while addressing the public from the president's Baabda Palace, local TV channel MTV reported.
Saving the country is collaborative work and the nation needs the efforts of all parties, he noted.
Najib Mikati (C) speaks at a press conference after being re-appointed as Lebanon's prime minister at the Baabda Palace in Beirut, Lebanon, on June 23, 2022. (Xinhua/Bilal Jawich)
The prime minister added that Lebanon has signed a preliminary agreement with the International Monetary Fund and it is still in negotiations with it to reach a final agreement.
"We do not have the luxury of time; we have already lost many opportunities of receiving support from brotherly countries. We should continue with reforms to save our nation," he said.
Mikati was reappointed as prime minister for the fourth time on Thursday after securing 54 votes from the parliament's 128 members in binding consultations with Lebanon's President Michel Aoun.
His main contender was Nawaf Salam, a judge on the International Court of Justice and former ambassador, who gathered 25 votes. Meanwhile, 46 parliament members cast a blank vote.
People queue to buy bread in front of a bakery in Tripoli, Lebanon, on June 23, 2022. Tripoli has been witnessing a bread shortage due to the lack of flour supply. (Photo by Khaled Habashiti/Xinhua)
Unlike many Lebanese leaders, Mikati does not represent a political bloc and now faces the difficult challenge of forming a cabinet capable of dealing with the country's unprecedented crisis.
Lebanon has been facing a steep financial crisis, causing the collapse of the local currency while plunging over 74 percent of the population into poverty, according to the United Nations.
Lebanon is in dire need of implementing structural reforms to unlock financial aid from the International Monetary Fund to save the country from its compounded crisis.
A craftswoman displays her works during a street festival held in Mar Mikhael in Beirut, Lebanon, on June 19, 2022. (Xinhua/Liu Zongya)■
