Prime Minister-designate Najib Mikati received, at the Grand Serail on Monday, with Caretaker Foreign Minister Abdallah Bou Habib, with whom he discussed Lebanon’s participation in the UN’s 77th General Assembly to be held in New York next week.

In remarks to reporters following the meeting, Bou Habib noted a progress in the indirect negotiations between Lebanon and Israel over the demarcation of their maritime border.

“US mediator Amos Hochstein has made new proposals which I cannot disclose,” he stressed.

“Progress has been made, but we haven’t reached the end yet,” he added.

Caretaker Premier Mikati also met with French Ambassador to Lebanon, Anne Grillo, who said on emerging that they discussed the current general situation and constitutional deadlines, including the presidential elections, the socio-economic conditions, and the need to proceed with the agreement with the International Monetary Fund.

Discussions also touched on the maritime borders’ issue.

Mikati later met with Regional Director for the World Bank’s Mashreq Department, Jean-Christophe Carret.

Separately, the PM met met with Caretaker Minister of Labor, Mustafa Bayram, accompanied by a delegation of public sector retirees, led by the retired Director General, Mohammed Al-Khatib, who handed him a memorandum bearing on relevant basic demands.

Mikati also received a delegation of the new Council of the Association of Certified Public Accountants in Lebanon, headed by Dean Afif Sharara, who came on a protocol visit.

The delegation briefed the Premier on the Syndicate’s tasks.