Moroccan, Omani Ministers Discuss Judicial Cooperation

Moroccan Minister of Justice Abdellatif Ouahbi held talks in Muscat Wednesday with his Omani counterpart Dr. Abdullah Mohammed Al Saidi (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Moroccan Minister of Justice Abdellatif Ouahbi held talks in Muscat Wednesday with his Omani counterpart Dr. Abdullah Mohammed Al Saidi (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Moroccan, Omani Ministers Discuss Judicial Cooperation

Moroccan Minister of Justice Abdellatif Ouahbi held talks in Muscat Wednesday with his Omani counterpart Dr. Abdullah Mohammed Al Saidi (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Moroccan Minister of Justice Abdellatif Ouahbi held talks in Muscat Wednesday with his Omani counterpart Dr. Abdullah Mohammed Al Saidi (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Moroccan Minister of Justice Abdellatif Ouahbi held talks in Muscat Wednesday with his Omani counterpart Dr. Abdullah bin Mohammed Al Saidi.

During the meeting, Ouahbi briefed the Omani Minister on the Moroccan experience and the comprehensive and deep reforms introduced by his country in the justice system.

He reviewed the important progress made by the Kingdom to achieve judicial reforms that enhance women’s and children’s rights, guarantee fair trials, and respect human rights.

For his part, the Omani Minister, in the presence of Morocco’s ambassador to the Sultanate of Oman, Tarik El Hsissen, and the delegation accompanying the minister, highlighted the latest developments in the Omani justice system.

The two sides reviewed the bilateral relations between Oman and Morocco and they discussed several matters of mutual interest.

The Ministers agreed to exchange expertise and experiences between their ministries to draft joint agreements of cooperation in the field of justice.



Lebanon Elects Army Chief as New President

The Lebanese Parliament building a day before a session to elect the Lebanese president, in Beirut, Lebanon, 08 January 2025. (EPA)
The Lebanese Parliament building a day before a session to elect the Lebanese president, in Beirut, Lebanon, 08 January 2025. (EPA)
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Lebanon Elects Army Chief as New President

The Lebanese Parliament building a day before a session to elect the Lebanese president, in Beirut, Lebanon, 08 January 2025. (EPA)
The Lebanese Parliament building a day before a session to elect the Lebanese president, in Beirut, Lebanon, 08 January 2025. (EPA)

Lebanon's parliament elected army chief Joseph Aoun head of state on Thursday, filling the vacant presidency with a general who enjoys US approval and showing the diminished sway of the Iran-backed Hezbollah group after its devastating war with Israel.
The outcome reflected shifts in the power balance in Lebanon and the wider Middle East, with Hezbollah badly pummelled from last year's war, and its Syrian ally Bashar al-Assad toppled in December.
The presidency, reserved for a Maronite Christian in Lebanon's sectarian power-sharing system, has been vacant since Michel Aoun's term ended in October 2022, with deeply divided factions unable to agree on a candidate able to win enough votes in the 128-seat parliament.
Aoun fell short of the 86 votes needed in a first round vote, but crossed the threshold with 99 votes in a second round, according to Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, after lawmakers from Hezbollah and its Shiite ally the Amal Movement backed him.
Momentum built behind Aoun on Wednesday as Hezbollah's long preferred candidate, Suleiman Franjieh, withdrew and declared support for the army commander, and as French envoy shuttled around Beirut, urging his election in meetings with politicians, three Lebanese political sources said.
Aoun's election is a first step towards reviving government institutions in a country which has had neither a head of state nor a fully empowered cabinet since Aoun left office.
Lebanon, its economy still reeling from a devastating financial collapse in 2019, is in dire need of international support to rebuild from the war, which the World Bank estimates cost the country $8.5 billion.
Lebanon's system of government requires the new president to convene consultations with lawmakers to nominate a Sunni Muslim prime minister to form a new cabinet, a process that can often be protracted as factions barter over ministerial portfolios.
Aoun has a key role in shoring up a ceasefire between Hezbollah and Israel which was brokered by Washington and Paris in November. The terms require the Lebanese military to deploy into south Lebanon as Israeli troops and Hezbollah withdraw forces.
Aoun, 60, has been commander of the Lebanese army since 2017.