The Lebanese President, Michel Aoun, will pay a visit to his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron, Monday 23 of September, 2017; President Aoun is the first foreign president to be received by President Macron since the latter’s election.
Yesterday, the Lebanese and French flags were hoisted on the Champs-Elysee, and several places in Paris, as well as on the official French institutions.
President Michel Aoun, who is due to embark on a three-day visit to France, will discuss boosting bilateral cooperation in several domains with Macron, mostly the military aid to the Lebanese Army, the Syrian refugee crisis and Saudi Arabia’s scrapped $4 billion gift to the Lebanese Army, the French Presidency said.
President Aoun will meet his French counterpart at the Elysee at 5 pm for a one-on-one meeting during which they will discuss the thorny issue of Syrian refugees, which is expected to top the agenda of his talks with French President Emmanuel Macron. The two heads of state will hold a joint press conference before the Arab World Institute to inaugurate the exhibition “Christians of the East. Two thousand years of history.”
According to the French newspaper, Le Figaro, the Lebanese President Michel Aoun will demand French enhanced cooperation in cultural, administrative and military levels. Apart from his meeting with Macron, the president will also hold talks on Tuesday with France’s Prime Minister Edouard Philippe, President of the Senate Gérard Larcher, Foreign Minister Jean Yves Laudrian, National Assembly Speaker François de Rugy, the two chairmen of parliament chambers, as well as Paris mayor. President Aoun is also scheduled to meet with the Lebanese community in France.
President Aoun will be accompanied by First Lady Nadia Aoun, Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil, and State Minister for Presidency Affairs Pierre Raffoul and Lebanese Ambassador to France Rami Adwan, Foreign Ministry political affairs director Ghadi al-Khoury, in addition to an administrative and media delegation.
