NNA - Former Prime Minister, Najib Mikati, met on Wednesday with World Bank expert and adviser, Joe Saba, with whom he discussed the economic situation in Lebanon.

The pair broached as well Saba's tasks concerning the Syrian refugee dossier, as well as the role of the WB and the UNHCR in resolving this crisis in cooperation with Lebanon.

NNA - Grand Mufti of the Lebanese Republic, Sheikh Abdul Latif Darian, welcomed Saturday afternoon former PM Najib Mikati at "Dar El-Fatwa".

Talks between the pair focused on the general situation and the stalled cabinet formation issue.

"We must strengthen the internal community in face of the challenges ahead, and the basis is to follow-up on the implementation of the Taif Agreement and the full implementation of the Constitution because it is the best solution for all," Mikati said after meeting.

"By virtue of our responsibility in preserving the country's interests, we defend this Agreement and adhere to the document of national reconciliation, demanding the full implementation of its provisions while holding on to the powers of the Prime Minister guaranteed by the Constitution," he underscored.

The MP also spoke about the economic challenges facing the country because of the delay in forming the government, in addition to the threats of the Israeli enemy to Lebanon and the need to fortify the internal situation to confront them.

NNA - Former PM Najib Mikati said that the Lebanese constitution, which emanates from the Taif Accord, stipulates that the process of forming the government be carried out in exclusive coordination between the Prime Minister-designaand the President of te the Republic. "So, there cannot be any interference in this process."

"Given the  fact that every political party's right to request participation in the government, especially if it were a national unity government, no one should, however, dictate terms on the PM-designate under the slogan of quotas and shares for this or that party," he told his visitors.

"We are neither in a ruling crisis nor in a regime crisis. What we are witnessing today are attempts to circumvent the Constitution and the Taif agreement, under different connotations," Mikati said, stressing the need to return back to the basis, thus “to the Taif Agreement which remains the one stable solution to the problems we are suffering."

In response to a question on the economic and monetary situations, he said: "There must be a distinction, in this framework, between the monetary situation and the problems related to the budget. First of all, there is no monetary problem, especially as the monetary action is part of a long-term program adopted by the Central Bank so as to preserve the monetary situation and Lebanon's reputation and credibility abroad."

"The real problem that Lebanon suffers is its budget, its accumulated deficit, its fiscal policy, and its inefficient financial spending. It is the duty of all politicians to cooperate so as to put an end to these problems, stop useless expenditures, and adopt serious accountability measures," the former PM argued.

It is not too late to start addressing the economic reality, especially if we genuinely let reform come before interests," he assured.

Separately, Mikati welcomed at his residence in Tripoli the United Arab Emirates Ambassador, Hamad Al-Shamsi, who said that "the visit is a friendly one to the brUnitedother and friend of UAE, PM Mikati with whom communication channels are constantly open."

"We wish Lebanon success and the formation of a government in the near future. This visit falls within the activities organized by the UAE Embassy at the Safadi Complex, where there are sports competitions taking place. Our aim, in this context, is to keep the younger generation aloof from extremism ideologies. These activities will extend to the year 2019," the diplomat said.

NNA - Saudi Ambassador to Lebanon, Walid al-Yaacoub, paid a protocol visit to former Prime Minister Najib Mikati at his Beirut residence on Monday.

Welcoming the newly-appointed diplomat, Mikati hoped the upcoming stage would witness further steps to bolster the relations with Saudi Arabia.

"Relations between our countries are the result of a history that is full with agreement and mutual respect and trust," Mikati said.

"Within this context, we warn of the peril of positions harming Lebanon and its historic ties with the Arab brothers, on top of whom the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia," he added.

"We must all work in order to protect Lebanon and keep it away from what it has no capacity to bear," he stressed.

For his part, the Ambassador said, "Unfortunately, there are sides in Lebanon that do not want the ties with the Kingdom to be good. They are vehemently working on harming those relations. But we count on the wisdom of the Lebanese to solve this problem."