Maronite Patriarch Beshara Rai is set to meet with French President Emmanuel Macron Tuesday afternoon, to discuss Lebanon’s relationship with France and other topics of interest to both nations.
Rai, who departed Lebanon for France Monday morning, is scheduled to meet Macron at 5 p.m. The Maronite patriarch’s two-day visit to the French capital to meet high-ranking officials came at the invitation of French president.
In his meeting with Macron, Rai is expected to speak about the position of Christians in Lebanon and the wider region, and the need for strengthened ties between the Maronite community and France.
A Bkirki source previously saidthat Rai would also raise the issue of the Syrian refugee crisis in Lebanon, and the urgent need for a solution to this situation, which he believes Macron could play a part in.
After World War I, Lebanon was administered by French mandate until 1943, and ties between the two countries have remained strong.
Lebanon’s Christian community has long called Paris “the caring mother.” In September 2017, President Michel Aoun – a Maronite Christian – joined Macron in Paris to inaugurate an exhibition on Christians in the Middle East, titled “Oriental Christians: 2,000 Years of History,” at the Arab World Institute.
This article has been adapted from its original source.
