The Cabinet session that was scheduled to take place at 9:30 AM today, Tuesday, has been postponed to a later date due to a lack of quorum. Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati held a consultative meeting with the attending ministers, which included: Minister of Youth and Sports George Kallas, Minister of Communications Johnny al-Qarm, Minister of Tourism Walid Nassar, Minister of Industry George Bouchkian, Minister of Administrative Development Najla Riachi, Minister of Finance Youssef Khalil, Minister of Interior and Municipalities Bassam Mawlawi, Minister of Health Firas Al-Abyad, Minister of Environment Nasser Yassin, Minister of Public Works and Transport Ali Hamiyeh, Minister of Agriculture Abbas Hajj Hassan, Minister of Labor Mustafa Bayram, and Minister of Culture Mohammad Wissam Mortada.
According to information, Mikati informed the ministers during the side meeting that the extension of the Army Commander will only take place by agreement and that he is not inclined to approach the subject as a challenge.
On another note, Minister of Information Ziad Al-Makari pointed out that "some media outlets reported a news that the Cabinet session was disrupted due to lack of quorum, and mentioned my name as one of the ministers who obstructed the quorum." He stated, "I would like to clarify that I received a call from the Secretary-General of the Cabinet Mahmoud Makki while I was at the outer entrance of the Grand Serail informing me that the session has been postponed to next Monday, therefore I am not among the ministers who disrupted the quorum."
The Cabinet was set to discuss essential agenda items, including: a request from the Ministry of Communications to temporarily provide Internet service via the Starlink satellite network, and to accept a donation from non-governmental organizations to provide the mentioned service, as well as the Ministry of Health's presentation on the mechanism for supporting medicines for cancer and chronic diseases.
