October 8, 2026
This afternoon, attention turns to Baabda Palace, where the Council of Ministers held its scheduled session at three o’clock, in light of the continuing state of governmental discord, and after the failure of the meeting held yesterday in the Government Palace to reach a settlement that would resolve the participation of the Minister of Energy and Water, Joe Al-Saddi, in the sessions.
The meeting on Wednesday, which brought together Prime Minister Nawaf Salam with a number of ministers, including Al-Saddi, ended without reaching a formula to end the Minister of Energy’s boycott of the Council of Ministers’ sessions. During the meeting, Al-Saddi affirmed his adherence to his position of refusing to participate in today’s session, stressing that securing the necessary funds for the electricity sector falls on the responsibility of the Prime Minister and the Minister of Finance, and demanding the provision of $50 million allocated to purchase fuel and increase feeding hours.
For its part, the Presidency of the Government explained that the meeting discussed ways to increase the electrical supply and practical steps to gradually increase its hours during the next stage, provided that the discussion will be completed in a special meeting held tomorrow, Friday, without the statement including an announcement of the approval of the required funding or an end to the retreat of Minister Al-Sadi, who links his return to the sessions to the implementation of his demands related to the electricity sector, especially paying arrears and covering exemptions to the Electricité du Liban, while continuing to conduct the work of his ministry.
Sensitive security and administrative files are on the agenda of the session, most notably the study of an expedited draft law to amend Decree No. 1540 issued on November 25, 1978, relating to the establishment of the special apparatus to maintain and defend the security of Beirut International Airport, with the aim of expanding the scope of its powers to include airports that may be established in the future. This discussion comes amid legal and administrative problems raised by the proposed wording, especially the phrase “including airport campuses,” and the questions it raises about the overlap of powers between the agency and other administrative and security agencies.
In the same context, the government is considering a request from the Ministry of Public Works and Transport to assign the Council for Development and Reconstruction to implement the work of installing a surveillance camera system at Qlayaat Airport, while transferring the necessary funds from the detailed account of airport fees.
In the telecommunications sector, the file of valuing the assets of the Ministry of Communications is on the table for discussion to estimate their financial value as a step related to the management of state assets, while emphasizing that the valuing process does not necessarily mean making a decision to sell these assets or transfer their ownership. The energy sector agenda also includes a draft decree to add electricity production projects using renewable energy to the list of clean technology projects.
Between today’s session and tomorrow’s upcoming meeting, the government faces a real test, which is its ability to provide the necessary funding to improve the electrical supply, address the reasons for the boycott of the Minister of Energy, in addition to resolving the outstanding administrative, security and financial files.
