HARIRI: The Economic and Social Council is One of The Pillars of The Modern State

11 Dec 2017

Beirut - This is the speech delivered by the President of the Council of Ministers Saad Hariri during his participation in the election today of the President and the bureau of the Economic and Social Council of Lebanon, in the Council building:

"I am very happy to be with you today to participate in the long-awaited election of the Economic and Social Council Bureau. This is an additional achievement for the "Restoring-confidence Government", the confidence we are working to restore in deeds not in words.

Our government has given the priority to reactivate the state's work with all its institutions, so I congratulate everyone and Lebanon on the launching of the Economic and Social Council. The Taef Agreement noted in its reformist provisions the establishment of the Economic and Social Council. It was no coincidence and came from a serious awareness of the importance of having a council in which the productive society (associations, trade unions, liberal professions, expatriates and civil society) is represented, accompany the work and reforms of the successive governments.

I am fully convinced that the Economic and Social Council is one of the pillars of the modern state. The constructive economic and social dialogue between the State and all members of the productive society is characteristic of democratic societies determined to advance and prosper.

We have a large and important workshop. It is a stage that requires the cooperation of all to promote the Lebanese economy and achieve economic development.

I hope that you will accompany us in the next stage. We need your expertise and look forward to dialogue and consultation with you on the future steps.

He added: I would also like to address the conference held in Paris with the aim of supporting Lebanon's political, security and economic stability.

What happened in Paris is the political support, and the security support will be through the quest for convening the Rome II Conference to support the Lebanese army and all military forces. An economic conference to support the Lebanese economy will also be held. Therefore, we have a great deal of work, and the Paris Conference was a roadmap for political, security and economic support.

You and I have a lot of work to do and the government will be very cooperative, whether the Prime Minister or the ministers. I would like to thank His Excellency President Michel Aoun, who was the driving force behind the launching of the Economic and Social Council. I would like to thank Speaker Nabih Berri for being a key supporter of this achievement.

Congratulations to you all. Today is a beginning. There is a lot of work and great challenges ahead. We are a country facing great economic problems and we must all cooperate to find the solutions that are needed.

Sometimes it will be difficult to make the right decisions, but we have a better future ahead hopefully."

Upon leaving the Economic and Social Council, Prime Minister Hariri replied to the questions of the reporters:

Question: Will there be a session of the Council of Ministers on Thursday?

Hariri: Hopefully.

Question: How is the relationship with the Lebanese Forces?

Hariri: The relationship is good and we want to bring the Lebanese together. Our main concern is that all political forces in Cabinet consider Lebanon's interests first. We are now going through a stage in which all the forces in the government have to disassociate themselves for the economy and the interests of Lebanon with its surroundings, the Arab and Gulf countries. We have to work positively and if there are some things that we disagree on we put them aside, because in the end our differences are affecting the economy, politics and several things. The main thing is to build on the pros, and things that need to be resolved. We are working to solve them together.

Question: What do you think about what happened in Awkar yesterday and the appearance of armed forces on the border?

Hariri: The appearance of armed elements is bad for the state, and the security forces must act decisively in this matter, and anyone who raises his weapon must pay the price. We are not in a banana republic. We are a state and whoever violates the law must pay for it. This is decisive for me. Whoever wants to peacefully demonstrate has the right to do so and the security forces must defend this right and the peaceful demonstration.

Yesterday, if it had been a 100% peaceful demonstration, the demonstrators would have been able to deliver their message to the whole world in a much better way. This is the message that we want to deliver, that we reject the American decision that Jerusalem is the capital of Israel. On the contrary, Jerusalem is the capital of Palestine and full stop.

Hariri then received at the Grand Serail the Canadian Ambassador to Lebanon, Emmanuelle Lamoureux, and discussed with her the developments and bilateral relations between the two countries.

Hariri also chaired a meeting of the Ministerial Committee tasked with discussing the salaries scale for employees in public institutions that are not subject to Labor Law. The meeting was attended by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Health Ghassan Hasbani, Minister of Finance Ali Hassan Khalil, Minister of Education Marwan Hamade, Minister of Communications Jamal Jarrah, Minister of Culture Ghattas Khoury, Minister of Energy and Water César Abi Khalil and the Secretary General of the Council of Ministers Fouad Fleifel.