Lebanese Prime Minister-designate Najib Mikati said he hoped to form a government in the "near future" BEIRUT: Lebanese Prime Minister-designate Najib Mikati said on Wednesday that he hoped to form a government shortly after securing the approval of President Michel Aoun for most of his nominees. Mikati, a businessman, is the third potential prime minister to be nominated since Hassan Diab"s government resigned after an explosion in Beirut"s port area on Aug. 4 last year that killed more than 200 people and flattened large areas of the city. He spoke to reporters after meeting Aoun. Diab"s government has stayed on in a caretaker capacity, but Lebanon"s currency has collapsed, jobs have vanished and banks have frozen accounts in the country"s worst crisis since the 1975-90 civil war. "I gave my proposals, President Aoun approved most of them and he made some remarks which are acceptable; God willing ... we will be able to form a government soon," Mikati said. Mikati has been prime minister twice before and, unlike many Lebanese leaders, does not represent a political bloc or hail from a dynasty. Like the previous nominee, Saad Al-Hariri, he must navigate the sectarian, power-sharing structure and secure agreement on a cabinet equipped to address the financial meltdown in Lebanon, one of the world"s most heavily indebted states.
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