Aoun kicks off official visit to Rome

President of the Republic, Michel Aoun, First Lady Nadia Al-Shami Aoun, and an accompanying delegation, kicked off an official visit to Italy on Wednesday during which the President is scheduled to meet with Italian President, Sergio Mattarella, and Italian Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni.

The President Aoun will also be inaugurating the international Med Dialogues conference which will be held by the Italian foreign ministry and the Institute for International Political Studies (ISPI) between November 30 and December 2.

It will be the third time that Mediterranean and world leaders, the heads of international organizations, dozens of representatives from the economic and financial sector, experts and analysts will gather in the Italian capital. The resulting exchange of ideas is meant to provide solutions to the many tensions in the region and to remember that there is 'Beyond Turmoil, a Positive Agenda'.

Italian newspaper, La Stampa, shed light on the paramount importance of the President's visit to Rome, especially in the promotion and development of relations between the two countries.

"We have steered clear from the recent crisis, and Prime Minister Saad Hariri will resume his leadership of Lebanon," Aoun told the Italian daily La Stampa.

He added that the future of the Middle East would be based in Beirut, "which is a model of coexistence in the region."

"Diverse Lebanese communities have lived together for centuries, and this will continue," Aoun said.

"Christians will return to both Syria and Iraq. Terrorism has made us realize that the closer Europe and the Mediterranean countries are to each other, the bigger attention they will get from the world," Aoun added.

The President also described the historical relations between Lebanon and Italy for centuries as a "close friendship".

In response to a question about his position from Hezbollah and its involvement in regional crises, especially at a time when Prime Minister Hariri adheres to the dissociation of Lebanon from regional conflicts, the President said, "Hezbollah has fought terrorism in Lebanon and abroad. When the war against terrorism ends, Hezbollah fighters will return to their homeland