SAWT BEIRUT INTERNATIONAL

| 2 November 2024, Saturday |

This is what the new ministers said in their first statements

Minister of Justice, retired Brigadier General Henry Khoury, said in his first statement that judicial formations have their own privacy, and there is a demarcation line between the minister and the Supreme Judicial Council, and this line will be respected, and this applies to the State Consultative Council as well. Regarding the August 4 bombing file, Khoury said to a TV channel: “The powers of the Minister of Justice are limited, and the file is not within his reach, and the one in charge is an honest judge, the judicial investigator, Judge Tariq Bitar.”

He added, “I have no authority to interfere in the issue of immunities or see the progress of the investigation by virtue of secrecy, the judge is leading his way, and I will not involve into political quarrels, but rather into the judicial part.” On the issue of the suspension of work in the palaces of justice and the work of lawyers, Khoury said that new steps have been taken to return to normal work in the palaces of justice.

The Minister of Industry, Georges Boushekian, said: The word “Congratulations” is said when achieving success, and I do not prefer to talk much, but rather work in order to reach the Lebanon that the Lebanese people want, and the goal of this government is to bring the Lebanese industry to achieve international quality standards at competitive prices, and nothing is impossible”.

The Minister of the Displaced, Issam Sharaf El-Din, said: I hope that all data will be available to me so that I can help. I hope that the officials will understand the accuracy of the stage and stop the political quarrels so that we can work calmly, and I say to the media, “have mercy on us” and focus on the positive things, instead of mistakes and negatives. “I’m not a specialist, but I will work within the government’s combined plan,” he added.

The Minister of Environment in the new government, Nasser Yassin, hoped that “the government will work in a systematic way to manage the crisis in a better way and put an end to the current collapses, provided that a road map and new programs will be developed to save the economy and recover the society, provided that these titles will be the bases for the  governmental work.”

In this context, Yassin hoped that the government would work as a team to start the path of reform and recovery in various fields. He added: “There must be a transparent openness to the Arab and international community to support Lebanon in managing the crisis, and all these factors help in putting Lebanon on the recovery path.”