President of the Republic Michel Aoun and French President Emmanuel Macron agreed on the importance of continuing to strengthen cooperation between Lebanon and France and to bolster commitment to consolidate Lebanese-French relations.
President Aoun stressed that Lebanon was proceeding with structural reforms due to national considerations that are not linked to any other agreement, explaining that the main title of his reign is reform in the financial and economic sectors.
For his part, President Macron reiterated his country's commitment to support Lebanon in all fields, to answer President Aoun's invitation to pay a state visit to Lebanon in 2020 to celebrate the centennial of Greater Lebanon.
The stances of Presidents Aoun and Macron came during a meeting that was held in New York at the French Pavilion of the United Nations headquarters in the presence of senior Lebanese and French officials.
Sources of the Lebanese delegation described the meeting between President Aoun and President Macron as “good”, where the pair discussed issues of mutual interest to both countries.
The sources added that the Lebanese-French talks focused on several fronts, most notably the necessity of activating CEDRE Conference. Accordingly, President Macron briefed President Aoun on the results of his meeting with Prime Minister Saad Hariri and on the points that had been raised vis-a-vis the structural reforms that Lebanon is supposed to adopt in the coming few months.
Aoun and Macron also discussed the issue of Syrian refugees in Lebanon and the obstacles hindering their returning to their country, where Aoun briefed his French counterpart on the negative repercussions of this situation on various Lebanese sectors and resources.
"About 360,000 Syrians have so far voluntarily returned to Syria, and there have been no international reports indicating that they have been subjected to any security incident,” Aoun confirmed to Macron.
In return, Macron expressed his country's understanding of the Lebanese position and the damage inflicted on the Lebanese economy, hoping that progress will be made in solving the Syrian crisis politically through the formation of the Constitutional Committee which had been agreed upon.
Presidents Aoun and Macron also discussed the centennial of Greater Lebanon, in which Macron expressed great interest. The pair agreed on holding joint celebrations between the two countries, with the participation of the Lebanese and French armies, to celebrate this special event.