Lebanon's PM calls for 'sacrifice' as new government meets for the first time

Najib Mikati's Cabinet is expected to prioritise tackling the country's economic collapse

Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati said the country 'requires exceptional measures'. AFP

Lebanon's people will have to make sacrifices, Prime Minister Najib Mikati said on Monday, as the country's new government met for the first time.

Mr Mikati recently formed an administration, ending 13 months of caretaker government during which political leaders fought over ministerial posts as the economy collapsed.

“The country requires exceptional measures,” Mr Mikati said from the presidential palace in Baabda, a Beirut suburb.

“We all have to sacrifice.”

The Cabinet must now decide on a plan to save the country from a severe economic crisis and enact reforms crucial to unlock billions of dollars in loans and debt relief.

A view of Lebanon's capital, Beirut, with the lights on only in some buildings. Lebanese rely on highly polluting diesel generators run by private neighbourhood operators to make up for shortfalls in electricity supply from the state utility. EPA

A fisherman uses a headlamp at the seaside corniche in Beirut, Lebanon. EPA

A vendor sells LED balloons in full darkness at the corniche in Beirut. EPA

The near collapse of the national grid has increased the duration of power cuts across Lebanon. EPA

Residents of Beirut are experiencing power cuts of up to 20 hours a day. EPA

Mr Mikati, a telecoms billionaire, said his government would “deal with the issue of fuel and medicine to stop the humiliation of people".

Lebanon has been suffering from severe shortages of imported goods such as petrol and medicine, which are subsidised by the government. The central bank's foreign-currency reserves have dwindled since an economic crisis hit in late 2019, severely restricting the imports of subsidised products.

People have had to queue for hours at petrol stations to fill their tanks, with many calling them “lines of humiliation".

The shortage of fuel has also affected the supply of electricity, both from state-owned power plants that run on fuel oil and diesel-powered private generators that make up the shortfall in the state supply. Extended power cuts have affected the functioning of hospitals, as well as businesses such as food suppliers.

Political parties that have been widely blamed for the present crisis chose most of the 24 new ministers.

Mr Mikati said the government would restart negotiations with the International Monetary Fund this week. Securing international funding is critical to addressing an economic crisis that, according to the UN, has pushed nearly 80 per cent of the population below the poverty line.

The Cabinet is also expected to lift subsidies, which Mr Mikati has said the country can no longer afford. Ministers must also prepare for parliamentary elections in eight months' time.

President Michel Aoun, an ally of the Iran-backed Hezbollah movement that holds sway over Lebanese politics, led the Cabinet meeting.

Mr Aoun said he hoped the new government would restart negotiations with the IMF. Talks on an assistance package broke down last year after disagreements between the government, Parliament and the central bank.

At the end of the Cabinet meeting, the ministers formed a committee that will draft an outline of the government's policies.

They must submit the plan to Parliament, which needs to approve it for the government to be sworn in.

The government has one month to submit its plan, a presidential spokesman said.

“The first meeting took place today but they will need to meet many more times to get the plan done,” he said.

This step is seen as a formality because Lebanon's major political players, including Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, picked the new ministers.

Who is in the new Lebanese Cabinet?

Health Minister Firass Abiad, a gastrointestinal surgeon, is the chairman of the board of directors of Lebanon’s largest hospital, the Rafik Hariri Hospital. Photo: NNA

Minister of Administrative Development Najla Riachi is the only woman in the Cabinet and has served in a number of diplomatic positions, including as Lebanon’s permanent representative to the UN from 2007 to 2017. Photo: NNA

Foreign Affairs Minister Abdallah Bou Habib served as Lebanon’s ambassador to the US between 1983 and 1990 and has worked for the Wold Bank. Photo: NNA

Interior Minister Bassam Al Mawla was a judge of the Chamber of First Instance in Beirut before heading the North Lebanon criminal court. Photo: NNA

Social Affairs Minister Hector Hajjar has worked for NGOs including Caritas and 'Risala Assalam' which supports people with special needs. Photo: NNA

Economy Minister Amin Salam is a corporate lawyer and economist with a degree in leadership and management from the Harvard Kennedy School. Photo: NNA

Agriculture Minister Abbas Al Hajj Hassan is a former journalist who worked at France 24 in Paris. He studied law and political science in France. Photo: NNA

Defence Minister Maurice Salem served as the army's head of military medicine until his retirement at the rank of brigadier in 2012. Photo: NNA

Minister of the Displaced Issam Sharafeddine is a pharmacist by training who branched out into the business world in the 1990s when he started producing soaps, cosmetics and cleaning products. Photo: NNA

Information Minister George Kordahi worked as a journalist for MBC FM Radio in London and Lebanese television channel LBC. He is also a goodwill ambassador for the UN Environment Programme. Photo: NNA

Public Works and Transport Minister Ali Hamieh holds a PhD in electronics and optical communications from the University of Western Brittany in France. He is a lecturer at a number of local universities. Photo: NNA

Energy Minister Walid Fayyad is managing director of the Mena division at international consulting firm Partners in Performance. Photo: NNA

Tourism Minister Walid Nassar has worked as a consultant for Lebanon’s participation in Expo 2020 Dubai. Photo: NNA

Environment Minister Nasser Yassin is the current director of the Crisis Observatory at the American University of Beirut. Photo: NNA

Labour Minister Moustafa Bayram is one of Hezbollah’s ministers in the Cabinet. He was appointed head legal observer in the audit department of the Council of Ministers in 1998. Photo: NNA

Sports and Youth Minister George Kallas has held a number of administrative positions in Lebanese newspapers and universities and as a lecturer at the faculty of documentation and information at the Lebanese University. Photo: NNA

Education Minister Abbas Halabi is a former judge and vice chairman of the board of directors and legal counsel at Lebanese bank BBAC and holds a degree in French and Lebanese law from Saint Joseph University in Beirut. He is vice president of the Lebanese National Commission for Unesco. Photo: Unesco

Justice Minister Henry Khoury is the former head of the State Shura Council. Photo: NNA

Industry Minister George Boujikian is a businessman who has founded several Lebanese companies including pharmaceutical companies Technoline and BioDiamond Middle East. He holds both Lebanese and Canadian citizenship. Photo: NNA