LOC01:24
22:24 GMT
BEIRUT, Jan 21 (KUNA) -- Lebanon's Prime Minister Hassan Diab on Tuesday named his new cabinet members after more than a month of talks with political parties and nearly three months following the resignation of predecessor Saad Al-Hariri.
"It is indeed a government of one color, that of Lebanon, and I am a technocrat," Diab said in a news conference after unveiling the lineup of his 20-member cabinet.
Diab, a university professor and former education minister, vowed that his self-described technocrat government would strive to implement the demands of the popular protests movement, notably restoring the state's stolen assets, fighting unemployment and preparing new laws for election and judiciary independency.
On the government foreign policy, Diab said the government was keen on boosting ties with Arab neighbors and distancing itself from regional conflicts.
He added that his government would prioritize relations with Arabian Gulf states.
Diab's government, however, was not welcomed by many protesters who gathered near the Lebanese parliament and took to streets in the capital Beirut and other areas to protest against it.
Moreover, a number of political parties and blocs had previously announced that they would not partake in the new government, namely: the Future Movement of former premier Saad Al-Hariri, the Kataeb Party, the Lebanese Forces Party, and the Progressive Socialist Party.
President Michel Aoun assigned Diab to form the government on December 19 to replace outgoing premier Hariri.
The new government will lead the country in a delicate time as nationwide anti-government protests have been ongoing for months as the country faces its worst economic crisis since the 1975-1990 civil war.
Diab, who describes himself as a technocrat, is an engineering professor at the American University of Beirut (AUB). He had held the education portfolio in the 2011 cabinet. (end)
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