Lebanon’s Presidency Considers Calling National Dialogue if Govt Crisis Persists

Lebanon's President Michel Aoun talks to Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri during a cabinet meeting in Baabda near Beirut, Lebanon December 5, 2017. (Reuters)
Lebanon's President Michel Aoun talks to Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri during a cabinet meeting in Baabda near Beirut, Lebanon December 5, 2017. (Reuters)
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Lebanon’s Presidency Considers Calling National Dialogue if Govt Crisis Persists

Lebanon's President Michel Aoun talks to Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri during a cabinet meeting in Baabda near Beirut, Lebanon December 5, 2017. (Reuters)
Lebanon's President Michel Aoun talks to Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri during a cabinet meeting in Baabda near Beirut, Lebanon December 5, 2017. (Reuters)

Head of Lebanon’s Free Patriotic Movement, MP Gebran Bassil has recently called on President Michel Aoun to hold a national dialogue, amid severe disputes over the formation of a new government.

Sources close to the president said that dialogue was one of the options on the table if the government deadlock continued, adding: “But no decision has been taken so far in this regard; the idea is being discussed and assessed because the priority now is to form a government.”

“If it became clear that it was impossible to speed up the formation process, then it would be better to engage in dialogue and set a specific date for it,” the sources remarked.

However, the Mustaqbal Movement, Progressive Socialist Party (PSP) and Lebanese Forces all agree that national dialogue would be pointless in the cabinet formation efforts.

Deputy leader of Mustaqbal Mustafa Alloush said he supported dialogue in general, but added that based on previous experiences, such option would not be fruitful “because everyone comes to speak, but no one listens to the other.”

“The priority today is not for dialogue, but to form a salvation government and stop the collapse; only then would it be possible to call for dialogue or even discuss dissolving parliament to hold new elections, because the electoral law needs dialogue, just like any constitutional amendment,” Alloush told Asharq Al-Awsat.

PSP MP Hadi Abu Al-Hassan said: “In principle, we always support the call for any dialogue with Lebanese parties to find solutions to crises. However, if the goal of the dialogue today is to form a government, then we will not support it because we believe that this issue must be resolved between Aoun and Prime Minister-designate Saad al-Hariri according to the constitution.”

Lebanese Forces MP Fadi Saad reaffirmed his party’s demand for the need to hold early parliamentary elections.

On the other hand, Speaker Nabih Berri’s Development and Liberation bloc has expressed support to holding a national dialogue.

MP Yassine Jaber told a television interview: “What is required today is an initiative by the President of the Republic to hold a serious discussion in the country.”

Addressing Aoun, Jaber said: “Mr. President, the country is drowning, and you have to call for a dialogue.”



Egypt Strengthens Cooperation with Africa to Tackle Water Challenges

Egypt affirms that water issues are a shared challenge growing more severe due to climate change (Photo by Abdel Fattah Farag)
Egypt affirms that water issues are a shared challenge growing more severe due to climate change (Photo by Abdel Fattah Farag)
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Egypt Strengthens Cooperation with Africa to Tackle Water Challenges

Egypt affirms that water issues are a shared challenge growing more severe due to climate change (Photo by Abdel Fattah Farag)
Egypt affirms that water issues are a shared challenge growing more severe due to climate change (Photo by Abdel Fattah Farag)

Egypt is continuing to strengthen its cooperation with African nations to confront the pressing challenges of water and food security.

“Water issues are a shared challenge that grows more severe due to climate change and resource scarcity, especially given Egypt’s near-total dependence on Nile water,” Egyptian Minister of Irrigation Hani Sewilam said, according to an official statement by the Egyptian Cabinet on Friday.

Speaking on behalf of the Prime Minister during a celebration at the Djibouti Embassy in Cairo marking Djibouti’s 48th independence anniversary, Sewilam emphasized that cross-border cooperation, rooted in principles of international law, is the optimal path to ensure sustainable water resources.

Egypt frequently raises the issue of water security, particularly amid the ongoing crisis over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, which Ethiopia has built on the main tributary of the Nile since 2011 to generate electricity. Egypt and Sudan fear it will impact their water shares.

Ambassador Salah Halima, former Assistant Foreign Minister and Deputy Chairman of the Egyptian Council for African Affairs, stressed that water security is closely linked to river management and dam operations. He told Asharq Al-Awsat that Egypt consistently underscores the importance of respecting international laws and agreements on managing water resources and criticized Ethiopia’s unilateral actions to impose a de facto situation regarding the dam.

Halima added that achieving water security requires cooperation among states in managing water resources and constructing dams, noting that Egypt has valuable experience African nations can benefit from.

Egypt faces a water deficit estimated at 30 billion cubic meters annually. Its share of Nile water amounts to 55.5 billion cubic meters per year, while consumption exceeds 85 billion cubic meters. The shortfall is covered by groundwater extraction, seawater desalination projects, and recycling agricultural drainage water, according to the Ministry of Irrigation.

On Friday, Sewilam highlighted the longstanding ties between Egypt and Djibouti as an example of cooperation amid complex regional and global challenges requiring greater unity and shared vision. He noted that the regional and international context demands an understanding of the magnitude of challenges, ranging from security and peace to sustainable development and socio-economic stability, especially in the Arab and African regions.

Egypt is finalizing a memorandum of understanding with Djibouti’s Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources to cooperate in fields such as integrated water resources management, desalination technologies, groundwater recharge, capacity building, knowledge exchange, and joint research.

In parallel, Egyptian Minister of Agriculture Alaa Farouk reaffirmed Egypt’s commitment to working with African countries to develop more efficient, inclusive, and sustainable agricultural value chains. Speaking during FAO meetings in Rome, he said that strengthening these chains is central to food security, economic growth, and job creation, particularly in rural areas. Farouk also discussed promoting Egyptian investment in Africa to boost agricultural development and food security across the continent.