Michel Aoun’s visit marks a new era in KSA-Lebanon ties

Michel Aoun

RIYADH/BEIRUT: 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.
Aoun “will undertake his first foreign visit (since taking office in October) with a trip to Riyadh, and will attend a reception hosted by the Lebanese Embassy here on Tuesday,” where he will meet media figures, said Lebanese Ambassador Abdel Sattar Issa in Riyadh.
In February last year, the Kingdom stopped funding a program to rearm Lebanon’s military because of hostile Lebanese positions due to Hezbollah’s stranglehold on the state.
Under the Saudi-funded “Donas” program, France was to provide military equipment to Lebanon to ensure stability in the divided country. The program was to ship vehicles, helicopters, drones, cannons and other equipment.
The increased influence of Iran-backed Hezbollah in the official affairs of Lebanon had apparently undermined Saudi-Lebanese ties, an official source told SPA at the time.
Ex-army chief Aoun was elected president on Oct. 31, ending a two-year political vacuum at the heart of Lebanese politics.
Aoun had long eyed the presidency, and his candidacy was supported by Hezbollah, his ally since a surprise rapprochement in 2006.
Following the election Iran welcomed Aoun’s win as a victory for Hezbollah, Tehran’s ally in Lebanon.