BEIRUT: Prime Minister Tammam Salam will make an official two-day visit to the UAE starting Monday, and will fly to European countries in the following weeks.
During his UAE visit, Salam, who will head a ministerial delegation, is set to meet Emirati heir apparent Sheikh Mohammad bin Zayad al-Nuhyan and Dubai Governor Sheikh Mohammad bin Rashed.
Salam and the delegation will also meet with the Lebanese community in the UAE. Salam’s talks with the top officials in the UAE will revolve around the situation in the region and its fallout, especially the Syrian refugee crisis and ways to help Lebanon deal with the issue.
At the end of the month, Salam is set to visit Brussels, where he will meet with top local and European Union officials to discuss the issue of Syrian refugees and bilateral relations between Belgium and Lebanon. In the second week of December, Salam will also fly to Paris with a ministerial delegation.
But before all that, Salam must chair a Cabinet meeting this Thursday that has 49 items on its agenda.
The Cabinet will discuss the signing of contracts with companies to operate the country’s two mobile networks. A number of ministers asked for the item to be delayed during the last session in order for them to review the specifications book distributed by Telecoms Minister Boutros Harb. The book specifies conditions that the candidate companies should fulfill.
Looking into the proposed Iranian military grant for the Lebanese Army will be postponed to the next session, according to Defense Minister Samir Moqbel, who said that he feared it would not be accepted, due to some ministers’ opposition to accepting aid from the Islamic Republic.
There are 11 decrees to be signed by ministers at Thursday’s Cabinet session. The Cabinet will also address the political and security situation, in particular the case of soldiers and policemen kidnapped during fighting in Arsal in early August.
Turkey is now involved in the negotiations to free the at least 27 security personnel being held by the Nusra Front and ISIS, a ministerial source told The Daily Star, and the Turkish ambassador to Lebanon is expected to meet with a delegation of the captives’ parents in the next few days.
The Lebanese task force charged with following up on negotiations consists of the prime minister – who is working hard to prevent leaks so talks won’t be derailed – the interior minister, the defense minister, the finance minister, the health minister and the General Security chief.
Negotiations between the Lebanese task force, represented by General Security Chief Maj. Gen. Abbas Ibrahim, and the Qatari envoy who is handling the talks with the Nusra Front are being kept very secret, the source said, and are being supervised by Salam.
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