Suleiman in Nice for Francophone Games Opening, Meets Hollande Saturday
President Michel Suleiman on Friday arrived in the southern French city of Nice, where he will take part in the opening of the 2013 Francophone Games and hold talks with French President Francois Hollande.
Suleiman was accompanied by First Lady Wafaa Suleiman, caretaker Deputy Prime Minister Samir Moqbel and a Lebanese delegation, according to state-run National News Agency.
The president is scheduled to hold separate talks on Saturday with Hollande and Abdou Diouf, secretary-general of La Francophonie, the agency added.
As Safir newspaper said Tuesday that Suleiman could discuss with Hollande the latest developments in Syria and mainly the French stance on a possible U.S. military strike on the regime over its alleged use of chemical weapons.
His talks with the French leader could also deal with the Syrian refugee influx in Lebanon after the the U.N. refugee agency said that at the end of August some 716,000 Syrian refugees were registered or in the process of being registered in Lebanon.
The UNHCR also said that more than two million Syrians have now fled their war-ravaged country.
France in cooperation with U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon has called for an international conference on the sidelines of the the General Assembly meeting in New York on Sept. 25 to establish a fund for the refugees.
The conference is expected to discuss ways to provide the necessary assistance to Lebanon to help it confront the rising number of the displaced.
Suleiman is expected to attend the conference as he will be traveling to New York at the head of the Lebanese delegation to attend the General Assembly sessions and address world leaders.
Preparations for international action against Syria have raised concerns in Lebanon, which has become increasingly embroiled in the conflict that has ravaged neighboring Syria.
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