Lebanon's military chief set to visit Turkey

Gen. Jean Kahwaji, head of the Lebanese Armed Forces, has accepted an invitation to pay an official visit to Turkey. Col. Ali Tas, military attache of the Turkish Embassy in Lebanon, recently paid a visit to Kahwaji and conveyed Turkish Chief of General Staff Gen. Ilker Basbug's invitation, which was welcomed by Kahwaji. A date for the visit has not yet been set. Earlier this month, Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri, accompanied by nine Cabinet ministers, paid an official visit to Turkey highlighted by the signing of five separate bilateral deals on cooperation in the areas of health, agriculture, military ties, transportation and education, in addition to an agreement to mutually lift visa requirements to boost trade, tourism and economic ties. Last month, during an official visit by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan to Damascus, Syrian President Bashar Assad revealed that Turkey was involved in efforts to resolve problems between Syria and Lebanon, without elaborating.