Lebanon’s President Aoun meets Qatari emir in Doha

By Ahmed al-Masri

DOHA (AA) - Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani and Lebanese President Michel Aoun held talks in Doha on Wednesday, Qatar’s state media reported.

The talks covered a range of regional and international issues, especially recent developments in the Middle East.

On bilateral relations, the two leaders agreed to activate a joint Qatar-Lebanon coordination committee and encourage greater economic and investment cooperation, according to Qatar’s official news agency.

The meeting was the first between the emir and Aoun since the latter assumed office last October, ending a 29-month presidency vacuum in Lebanon.

-Abducted nationals

Aoun also asked the emir to maintain his country’s efforts to learn the fate of Lebanese nationals -- including military personnel, journalists and clerics -- abducted by the Daesh terrorist group, the Lebanese presidency tweeted after the meeting, noting that the emir had promised to "follow up" on the issue.

In mid-2014, several Lebanese military personnel were captured by militants following clashes in the Lebanese town of Arsal on the Syrian border between the Lebanese army on one hand and Daesh and the Nusra Front (now called the Fath al-Sham Front) on the other.

The Nusra Front captured 16 Lebanese military personnel before releasing them in late 2015 in a Qatar-brokered prisoner swap with the Lebanese authorities.

Nine Lebanese military personnel, however, remain held by Daesh.