By Rashid Hassan and Najia Houssari, Arab news
Lebanese President Michel Aoun is set to visit Saudi Arabia on Monday, marking his first overseas trip since taking office two months ago. Aoun will visit the Kingdom Jan. 9-10 at the invitation of King Salman, before heading to Qatar for a two-day visit. “President
Aoun will meet Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques and the Deputy Crown
Prince, Second Deputy Premier and Minister of Defence Mohammed bin
Salman,” Rafiq Shalala, Lebanese presidential media adviser, told Arab
News. President Aoun,
who will be accompanied by a large ministerial delegation, had earlier
promised to visit Saudi Arabia when King Salman’s envoy Prince Khaled
Al-Faisal visited Lebanon to congratulate him on winning the
presidential election.
During the meeting with Prince Khaled, the president underscored his keenness to enhance ties with the Kingdom. The
delegation accompanying President Aoun includes seven key ministers
covering finance, defense, information, economy, interior affairs,
foreign affairs and education.
“The timing of the visit asserts
the attention given by President Aoun to Lebanon’s relations with the
Kingdom,” Shalala pointed out. He also noted that a Lebanese
delegation preparing for the visit has already arrived in the Kingdom to
work on the final program of the visit of President Aoun.