President Joseph Aoun has been invited by France to attend a preparatory meeting in Paris on September 17 for an international conference on Lebanese Army support.
President Joseph Aoun has received an invitation from French President Emmanuel Macron to participate in a preparatory meeting for an international conference aimed at supporting the Lebanese Army. The meeting will take place in Paris on September 17 and will bring together military delegations and experts from several countries to discuss the scale and shape of international assistance.
Aoun met separately with the board of directors of the National Council for Scientific Research at Baabda Palace, headed by Dr. Asaad Eid. During that meeting, the president underscored what he described as the shared responsibility of state institutions in rebuilding Lebanon's governance structures.
Speaking to the research council board, Aoun said their role was essential in helping to rebuild state institutions and in supplying the government and administrations with the studies and research necessary for state-building. He told them that their work should serve the public interest and that confidence in their efforts would be measured by their achievements.
Aoun said Lebanon had been restored to the world map and that the government would continue working to rebuild state institutions in parallel with efforts to end the current situation in the south. The president identified the reconstruction of towns and villages after an Israeli withdrawal as the largest challenge ahead, coupled with the deployment of the army to the border.
The president's remarks came as preparations advance for the Paris meeting on army support. That conference is expected to bring together countries willing to contribute to strengthening Lebanese military capacity at a moment when the country faces significant security pressures in the south.
The timing of the Paris meeting coincides with broader efforts by the Lebanese government to address the humanitarian and security crises that have defined recent months. Aoun has positioned international engagement on the army as central to his government's agenda, framing military strengthening as inseparable from the wider project of state reconstruction.
The preparatory meeting in Paris will set the stage for the full conference, determining which countries will participate and what commitments they might make. Military delegations and experts attending will discuss the specifications of Lebanese Army needs and the forms of support various nations can offer.
Aoun's invitation underscores France's sustained diplomatic role in Lebanese affairs, a position it has maintained through successive governments and crises. The French initiative on army support reflects broader international concern about Lebanon's stability and the role of its armed forces in securing the country.
The government has not yet disclosed the full agenda for the Paris preparatory meeting or indicated which other countries are expected to attend beyond those already confirmed. How the meeting proceeds and what commitments emerge from it will likely shape the scope and timeline of the full international conference on Lebanese Army support.
