Cabinet Calls Cellular Tender, Outlines Ministry-to-Ministry Cooperation with Syria
The Lebanese Government on Saturday assigned a three-member committee with the task of following up outcome of talks between the interior ministers of Lebanon and Syria and declared a limited tender to operate the two cellular telephone networks.
Information Minister Tareq Mitri, talking to reporters after the marathon government session at the Baabda Palace, said the follow-up committee is to be headed by Interior Minister Ziad Baroud and includes Gen. Ashraf Rifi, commander of the Internal Security Forces, and Gen. Wafiq Jezzini, director of General Security.
Mitri said the follow-up committee is strictly assigned to considering "ways of activating cooperation between the Lebanese and Syrian interior ministries, setting up the foundation for cooperation in combating terror and all crimes, creating a joint mechanism for border control, in addition to working out a bill for a memo of understanding on security cooperation between the two states."
The committee, he added, is to conclude its mission in three months following approval of its creation by the Lebanese and Syrian cabinets.
The government also assigned the ministry of telecommunications to call a limited tender to operate the two cellular telephone networks for one year, renewable for one year only.
The seven-hour session was presided over by President Michel Suleiman who briefed the cabinet on the outcome of his recent visit to New York.