NNA - Caretaker Prime Minister, Najib Mikati, delivered a word at the Arab Economic Security In Light of Geopolitical Changes Forum, organized by the Union of Arab Banks, at Phoenicia Intercontinental Hotel.

He said: "The major national challenge lies in the presidential vacuum and the failure to elect a new president of the republic, and the ensuing institutional and political instability, not to mention the exacerbation of the economic and financial crisis and the failure to embark on the reform plans and economic and financial recovery."

"You all know that fruitful investments are born from the crises we are enduring. Therefore, I invite you all to have confidence in this country," he added.

"Challenges continue to grow sharper with Israel's continuous occupation of areas in our land in the Lebanese south and its persistent aggression, attacks, and daily violations of the Lebanese sovereignty and the provisions of UN Security Council Resolution 1701," he went on saying.

"Our goal is still to prevent slipping into an all-out regional war, all the while anchoring peace and security in the region and extending the Lebanese state authority nationwide until the internationally-recognized frontier," he said.

"I shall not omit mentioning the successive waves of displacement into Lebanon across the last decades," he noted.

Touching on Lebanon's economic and financial situation, Mikati said: "We are seeking to adopt a new financial path, renew the monetary policy, embark on implementing the recovery strategy, and reach an agreement over a comprehensive reform plan to put the Lebanese economy on the track of salvation and recovery, through tight collaboration with the international community and its institutions, the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, the donor sides, and our friends and brothers."

============R.A.H.