Report: French Defense Minister Expected in Beirut

Lebanese Ambassador to France, Rami Adwan revealed that French Defense Minister Florence Parly is expected to visit Lebanon at the end of June, the pan-Arab al-Hayat daily reported on Wednesday.

On the sidelines of the Le Bourget Air Show in Paris, Adwan told the daily that he met with Minister Barley, who was touring with French President Emmanuel Macron at the exhibition and assured him that she was preparing for a close visit to Lebanon at the end of June.

Adwan said the French Minister plans to make the visit to follow up on her discussion with Lebanon's Defense Minister Elias Bou Saab when she met him in Berlin two months ago.

The Ambassador added that the French Ministry of Defense is determined to assist the Lebanese army, and that Barley's visit is also linked to a strategic army plan to create the ideal brigade and to assess the work of the border troops.

The air show was attended by a Lebanese military delegation comprised of the Lebanese military attaché in the Lebanese Embassy in France, General Nemer Abi Nassif; Deputy Chief of Staff for Planning, Brigadier General Joseph Sarkis; and Air Force Commander, Brig.Gen. Ziad Haikal.