Middle East Airlines Chairman Mohammed al-Hout held talks on Friday with Speaker Nabih Berri during which he informed him on the company’s situation in light of the country’s political circumstances, as well as the efforts to evacuate Lebanese expatriates from the Ivory Coast.

“Improvement on the internal scene in Lebanon will positively affect the tourism sector,” Hout said.

Speaker Nabih Berri did not deny the recent WikiLeaks reports that have been published exclusively in Al-Akhbar newspaper.

An MP had asked the speaker of his opinion on the cables, to which he responded: “All I know is that what was attributed to me are very accurate.”

Speaker Nabih Berri has unveiled that the cabinet formation process began heating up but stressed that he won’t make any statement before guaranteeing that the government lineup received the consent of all parties.

Berri made the remark to An Nahar newspaper following his meeting with Premier-designate Najib Miqati on Thursday night.

The inauguration mass of Beshara al-Rahi, the country’s 77th Maronite patriarch, is scheduled to be held in Bkirki on Friday afternoon with the attendance of the country’s top leaders.

President Michel Suleiman, Speaker Nabih Berri, caretaker Premier Saad Hariri and Prime Minister-designate Najib Miqati will participate in the ceremony that is scheduled to start at 5:00 pm. Cabinet Ministers, MPs, party leaders, diplomats, heads of the country’s different sects and other dignitaries will also attend the event which will be followed by a dinner to be hosted by al-Rahi.

The Lebanese were optimistic on Friday that the new government would be formed within days after a new draft lineup proposed by Premier-designate Najib Miqati reportedly received the consent of major political parties.

“Lebanon will have a government before the end of the month. The next few days are decisive and crucial,” a source close to Miqati told several Lebanese dailies.

Caretaker Defense Minister Elias Murr said in a WikiLeaks cable published by al-Akhbar daily on Thursday that Speaker Nabih Berri was eagerly waiting to break his political alliance with Hizbullah.

Berri “is praying to liberate himself politically from Hizbullah,” the cable quoted Murr as saying during a meeting with a U.S. diplomat on August 10, 2006.

Speaker Nabih Berri stressed on Wednesday the need to speed up the government formation in order to achieve Lebanon’s interests.

He said during his weekly meeting with his parliamentary bloc that a national salvation cabinet should be formed soon to confront the major internal and external challenges facing Lebanon.

A leaked U.S. Embassy cable published exclusively in Al-Akhbar Wednesday revealed that Health Minister Mohammed Jawad Khalifeh had informed then U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon Jeffrey Feltman that House Speaker Nabih Berri was disputed with Hizbullah Secretary General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah.

The WikiLeaks cable dated August 19, 2006, reported Khalifeh as saying that Nasrallah believes himself to be “greater than Salaheddine and all of us.”

Speaker Nabih Berri believed that liberating the Shabaa Farms would eliminate the reasons for maintaining the Resistance, revealed a leaked U.S. Embassy cable published exclusively in Al-Akhbar Wednesday.

A WikiLeaks cable dated July 25, 2006, reported on a meeting between the speaker and then U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon Jeffrey Feltman during which Berri voiced his opposition to Hizbullah’s disarmament if the Shabaa Farms remained occupied.

Prime Minister-designate Najib Miqati reportedly presented his first draft cabinet lineup to President Michel Suleiman on Tuesday, a sign that the new government could be formed soon.

An Nahar daily and a source close to Miqati said in remarks published Wednesday that both officials discussed the draft lineup which is a mix of politicians and technocrats.