Govt. May Not Tackle Petroleum File during Wednesday’s Session
The government is set to convene at the Baabda Palace on Wednesday where it is scheduled to discuss 68 articles, reported As Safir newspaper on Saturday.
It said that it remains unclear if the petroleum file will be addressed.
It will however tackle the salaries scale in Lebanon.
The cabinet’s schedule, which was distributed to ministers, also did not include Foreign Minister Adnan Mansour’s report on the maritime border.
Ministerial sources told the newspaper that they could not confirm if the report would be discussed at cabinet.
The issue had been addressed during previous sessions, but recent discussions on it had been postponed due to Mansour’s travels.
On Friday, Energy Minister Jebran Bassil had urged during a press conference the need to speed up appointments in the petroleum regulatory authority.
The cabinet approved in September 2011 the proposed borders of Lebanon’s Exclusive Economic Zone in the Mediterranean.
Prime Minister Najib Miqati, who is scheduled to represent Lebanon at the United Nations General Assembly meetings in September, will reportedly discuss Lebanon’s EEZ with international officials.
According to An Nahar newspaper published on Friday, Miqati will head to New York in the second half of September and is expected to tackle with U.N. leaders the dispute between Lebanon and Israel over a zone that consists of about 854 square kilometers and suspected energy reserves there that could generate billions of dollars.
An expert confirmed media reports that said Lebanon was able to restore around 500 square kilometers of the maritime zone that it considers it to be within its EEZ, which was acknowledged during the tripartite meetings in al-Naqoura between Lebanese and Israeli officials under the auspices of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon.
The Free Patriotic Movement argues that there is no need to re-discuss Lebanon’s EEZ when the cabinet had previously resolved the matter but the AMAL movement insists on the government to defend every inch of Lebanon’s rights in its EEZ.
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