Lebanon's foreign minister resigned on Monday amid a severe economic and financial crisis gripping the Arab country, warning that a lack of vision and a will to make changes is risking turning Lebanon into a "failed state."
Nassif Hitti is the first Cabinet minister to step down from his post amid the crisis, which poses as the most significant threat to the country since a devastating 15-year civil war ended in 1990. His resignation is a blow to Prime Minister Hassan Diab's government, which has struggled to implement reforms amid rapidly spiraling inflation and soaring unemployment and poverty, made worse by the coronavirus pandemic.
A few hours later, Diab held a meeting with President Michel Aoun after which Charbel Wahbe, a presidential adviser, was appointed to succeed Hitti as foreign minister.