The three leaders, cabinet meet; debt level to be kept stable

President Elias Hrawi, Speaker Nabih Berri and Prime Minister Rafik Hariri held a four-hour meeting, yesterday, in Baabda. The meeting, which started at 12:10 p.m. and included a business lunch, established an atmosphere of agreement on the basic matters between the three leaders. The details were left to be discussed during the coming negotiations.

While speaker Berri left the presidential palace without commenting, the prime minister informed the press about the results of the session, which he described as important. Hariri said that they had all agreed on the principle of austerity and on the effort to keep the percentage of deficit stable. "Any increase in the expenditure is out of the question and any decrease of the funds should be replaced by other funds," Hariri said. Answering a reporter's question, Hariri also denied that the "Troika" was reestablished.

Later in the day ,the cabinet met in its weekly session presided over by Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. The meeting, attended by 25 ministers, centered around the latest developments in the 1998 budget issue. As the cabinet's rapporteur, Minister of Communication Bassem El-Sabeh said the meeting started with the prime minister's summary of the stages through which the 1998 budget project has passed.

Four points were agreed upon during the session: maintaining the deficit at a rate of 37.46%, abstaining from any increase in the expenditure, replacing any decrease in the funds by other funds and leaving the cellular phone issue open for further negotiations. El-Sabeh also said that the country had been spending money to repair what the war had destroyed and to improve social services but it is now time to cut all unnecessary expenses and find new resources that will not harm the poor.