NNA – French President Emmanuel Macron and Saudi Arabia#39;s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman called for a quot;rapid end to the institutional political vacuum in Lebanonquot;, the Elysee said on Friday.
Macronnbsp;had been expected to seek support fromnbsp;MBS, as he is widely known, to find a solution in the search for a new president innbsp;Lebanon, a stalemate causing increasing exasperation fornbsp;France.
Lebanese lawmakers on Wednesday failed for a 12th time to elect a new president, as bitter divisions between the Iran-backednbsp;Hezbollahand its opponents risk miring the country in a protracted power vacuum.
The prolonged absence of a president quot;remains the major obstacle to resolving the country#39;s severe socio-economic crisisquot;, the French presidency said after the meeting between the two men in Paris.
Macron and the de facto leader of the oil-rich kingdom quot;also reiterated their shared commitment to security and stability in the Near and Middle East and expressed their desire to pursue their joint efforts to bring about a lasting easing of tensionsquot;.nbsp;
The two intend to quot;develop and deepen the partnership between the two countriesquot;.nbsp;
France is prepared quot;to supportnbsp;Saudi Arabianbsp;in strengthening its defence capabilitiesquot; and Macron stressed quot;the willingness of French companies to continue to supportnbsp;Saudi Arabiain implementing its ambitious Vision 2030quot;, the kingdom#39;s economic and social reform agenda.
MBS#39;s stay in France appears set to be a long one, with the crown prince due to attend a Paris summit on a New Global Financing Pact hosted by Macron on June 22-23.
(AFP)
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