Lebanon’s Billionaire Premier Aims to Halt Economic ‘Fire’
- Mikati has already met president twice on cabinet picks
- Country has to unlock pledged aid, revive stalled IMF talks
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Lebanon’s newly appointed prime minister said he has the international backing and business experience to stop the country’s descent toward an economic and social implosion that would reverberate across the Middle East.
“I have the needed international support from the EU, and particularly from France,” Najib Mikati, a billionaire and two-time former premier who was appointed this week, said in a phone interview. “And I’m confident the U.S. will be open to support as well,” he said, beyond the assistance Washington already gives to Lebanon’s army.