Safadi Proposes L.L.3,500 Billion Spending Bill, Miqati Says Turkey Trip Still On

Finance Minister Mohammed Safadi on Tuesday said the cabinet will discuss Wednesday a new extra-budgetary spending bill, noting that “the 4,900 billion was slashed to 3,500 billion, including the public sector wages.”

Speaking during Tuesday’s cabinet session, Safadi added that a political decision has been taken to approve the budget, but noted that the obstacle still hindering the plan was the need to audit extra-budgetary spending made between 2006 and 2010 by the governments of Fouad Saniora and Saad Hariri.

Briefing reporters after the session, Information Minister Walid al-Daouq said Prime Minister Najib Miqati told cabinet he “has preferred to postpone his visit to Turkey for talks with Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan until the course of efforts exerted to release the abductees becomes clear.”

“This visit is still on and I will embark on it soon in order to follow the issue with Turkish officials and discuss with them bilateral ties, a number of current issues and the latest developments in the region,” Daouq quoted Miqati as saying.

Addressing the issue of national dialogue, Miqati stressed that the meeting of the country’s leaders will “reflect positively on the political, security, economic and social situations, especially that it will be held months before the parliamentary elections.”

Asked whether the cabinet discussed new information or indications about the case of the 11 Lebanese pilgrims abducted in Syria’s Aleppo, Daouq said: “No, we have not received any information about this issue, but it was discussed and the premier showed concern about it.”