Lebanon invited to attend Saudi-US summit

Lebanon's Prime Minister Saad Hariri was invited on Thursday to attend the Arab-Islamic-American Summit to be held in Riyadh on May 21.

According to a statement by Hariri's press office, the Charge d'affaires of the Saudi embassy in Lebanon, Walid Al-Bukhari, handed over to Hariri the invitation during a meeting at the Grand Serail.

"The aim of the summit is to work towards an establishment of a new partnership to confront extremism and terrorism, and reinforce the values of tolerance and coexistence for the future of our generations in the Arab region," said Bukhari, following the meeting.

King Abdullah II of Jordan, Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika and Niger's Mahamadou Issoufou are among the leaders invited by Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud for the summit with US President Donald Trump, Xinhua news agency reported.

In addition, Yemeni President Abderabbo Mansour Hadi, Morocco's King Mohammed VI and the leaders of Turkey, Pakistan, Iraq and Tunisia have also received invitations.

Saudi Arabia, which is home to Islam's holiest sites, will be Trump's first foreign stop as President.

--IANS

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