Franjieh to strike deal with Berri

Health Minister Suleiman Franjieh said he was ready to enter into a political alliance with speaker Nabih Berri, describing the relation between them as a "strategic union."

"Speaker Berri and myself follow the same inclination; relations between us have always been stable," Franjieh told reporters after calling on the speaker at his Musaileh residence.

The minister added that it was normal for his Maradaarada party and the speaker’s Amal party to join in a coalition, if there is a sanction for national and secular parties in the future.

Franjieh discussed the imminent opening of the Nabatieh public hospital, due to be inaugurated after the designation of an administrative board. Asked why some media outlets in north Lebanon refused to abide by a government decision and shut down, Franjieh said the government should start closing them all.

The minister called the US’s recent decision to lift the travel ban a "good one" adding, however, that the decision served the interests of the Americans more than those of the Lebanese because it permitted American businessmen to invest in the country’s reconstruction projects.

Asked about the administrative corruption in his ministry, Franjieh answered that "this was the case in all ministries."