Prime Minister Najib Mikati on Friday visited Bkerke with an accompanying delegation of ministers and met with Maronite Patriarch Bechara Rahi.

Mikati described the visit's atmosphere as "good". "I've reassured His Beatitude that things would go back on the right track restoring Lebanon's economic role," he said.

"We've also broached an array of social issues; the Patriarch, in turn, has conveyed deep concerns on the social and daily living levels, especially regarding the Lebanese farmers' affairs and the need to address them," Mikati added.

In response to a question about the wretched conditions that the Lebanese have been enduring, Mikati affirmed that his cabinet had been seizing every opportunity to address people's concerns. I'm aware that they are great concerns, but we strive and seek to resolve them all, even if it's one thing at a time," Mikati said.

In response to another question about his relationship with the KSA, he replied: "I believe that Saudi Arabia is my political and religious compass; therefore, its doors are open anyway. When I perform my five daily prayers, I turn towards the qibla in Saudi Arabia."

As for the threat that judicial investigator, Judge Tarek Bitar, had received, Mikati said that the matter had been investigated and that nothing was certain.

"But I say that we must distinguish between populism, the law, and the constitution, and we must act carefully away from populism if we seek to reach the truth," Mikati concluded.