The President of the Council of Ministers, Saad Hariri, chaired on Tuesday at the Grand Serail the second meeting of the ministerial committee in charge of drafting the ministerial statement.

The  Minister of Finance Ali Hassan Khalil, the Minister of Youth and Sports Mohammad Fneish, the Minister of Education Akram Chehayeb, the Minister of State for Presidency Affairs Salim Jreissati, the Minister of Public Works and Transportation Youssef Fenianos, the Minister of Information Jamal Jarrah, the Minister of State for Administrative Development Affairs May Chidiac, the Minister of Economy Mansour Bteich, the Minister of State for Displaced Affairs Saleh Gharib, the Minister of Labor Kamil Abou Sleiman, the Secretary General of the Council of Ministers Fouad Fleifel and the Director General of the Presidency of the Republic Antoine Choucair attended.

Prime Minister Hariri also received the French Ambassador to Lebanon Bruno Foucher and discussed with him the latest local and regional developments as well as the bilateral relations between the two countries.

Hariri later on received the Kuwaiti Ambassador Abdul-Al Al-Kinai, who said after the meeting: "I had the honor to visit Prime Minister Hariri to convey to him the congratulations, wishes and blessings of the Emir of Kuwait Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, the Crown Prince, the Prime Minister and the government of Kuwait for the formation of the Lebanese Government. I conveyed their wishes of success for Prime Minister Hariri, and of progress and prosperity for Lebanon. They hope that this government will obtain the confidence of Parliament and will carry out its tasks so that Lebanon can once again play its Arab, international and pioneering role."

He also received the Russian Ambassador to Lebanon Alexander Zasypkin in the presence of Hariri's adviser for Russian affairs, Georges Chaaban.

After the meeting, the Russian ambassador said: "I congratulated Prime Minister Hariri on behalf of the Russian leadership on the occasion of the government formation, and we hope that the ministerial statement will be approved soon, and that the government will work coherently to make achievements for the benefit of the Lebanese people. We also discussed the development of the Russian-Lebanese cooperation on all levels, especially the economic level, in light of the decisions of the Joint Economic Commission and the contracts in the field of gas and oil extraction and exploration and the oil refinery in Tripoli. We also stressed the need to continue to work in the framework of the Russian-Lebanese Joint Committee, in light of the Russian initiative aimed at securing the return of the displaced Syrians to their country."