Lebanon PM Diab Qatar CV story ‘too ridiculous to be replied to’

Lebanon’s caretaker PM Hassan Diab’s office issued media statement saying news report about handing his CV to Qataris for a job is ‘too ridiculous to be replied to’. (AFP)

• Lebanese tabloid Al Akhbar said Diab surprised Qatari officials when he gave them a copy of his CV to find him a job
• Diab’s media statement said newspaper reported on the Qatar trip “jokingly” in a bid to disrupt negotiations with Qatari officials

BEIRUT: Lebanese Caretaker Prime Minister Hassan Diab gave his resumé to Qatari officials during a visit last week, Al-Akhbar newspaper has reported.
The Lebanese tabloid said that Diab surprised Qatari officials when he gave them a copy of his CV to find him a job.
“The news is too ridiculous to be replied to,” read a statement from Diab’s media office.
Al-Akhbar said Diab gave a copy of his resumé to prospective employers after the formation of a new Lebanese cabinet, which would remove his position as caretaker prime minister.
Al-Akhbar published that Diab’s purported move embarrassed a number of Qatari officials.
His visit was organized to discuss and seek Qatar’s support to fund the ration cards to be given to 750,000 poor families amid Lebanon’s economic crisis.
Diab’s media statement added that the newspaper reported on the Qatar trip “jokingly” in a bid to disrupt negotiations with Qatari officials.
“This is too silly. It is impossible for such a thing to have happened during an official trip … the news is a total sham in my opinion,” an official at Diab’s general headquarters, who requested anonymity, told Arab News.
The news sparked social media uproar, with many ridiculing the reported move with memes on WhatsApp. Some commenters defended Diab, with one Twitter user labelling him as “the most clean-handed official in Lebanon.”
On his Twitter handle, MP Jamil Al-Sayyed said any Lebanese official who visits the GCC would be interested in working there and making money.
Al-Sayyed said Diab presented his resumé for a future job at Qatar University based on his academic credentials. Diab is a former university professor.
“Where’s the bad in that! This is an indicator that he did not benefit from the state’s corruption like most of his predecessors,” he tweeted.
Another Twitter user said “Diab is open to work, no need for a CV, Google is enough.”