Lebanon's Aoun heads to UAE seeking economic support, reconstruction aid
The Lebanese president's visit to the UAE visit marks a bid to rebuild ties and garner financial support for the country's postwar reconstruction efforts.
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun will begin a two-day visit to the United Arab Emirates on Wednesday, his first trip to Abu Dhabi since taking office in January, as Beirut seeks to rebuild its Arab Gulf relations and court economic assistance.
What happened: Aoun’s office announced the visit in a statement released on Tuesday: “At the invitation of President of the United Arab Emirates, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Lebanese President General Joseph Aoun, will make a two-day official visit to Abu Dhabi, during which he will hold talks with His Highness the UAE President and other senior officials.”
The two leaders last spoke by phone in mid-January, as Al-Monitor's Jennifer Gnana reported. This was followed by a visit from a high-level Emirati delegation to Lebanon to discuss the reopening of the UAE’s embassy and bilateral cooperation under Lebanon’s new leadership.
Just over a week ago, Saqr Ghobash, speaker of the UAE’s Federal National Council (FNC), met with Aoun and Lebanese Speaker of the Parliament Nabih Berri in Beirut. During his meeting with Ghobash, Aoun expressed hope that his upcoming visit to the UAE would “open a new chapter in relations between the two countries.”
