“Let 2020 be a year in which some politicians are liberated from propositions that make it a dependent, bound nation, instead of being sovereign and independent and free to choose its options,” said Minister of Public Works and Transport, Ali Hamieh, in an issued statement today marking the outset of the New Year.

He added: “Let the index of true patriotism that we all claim actually be our engagement in revival, in line with our real status, and for the year 2022 to be the renaissance of the nation with the rise of all its facilities.”