Lebanon's newly elected president Joseph Aoun smiles as he walks into a meeting at the presidential palace in Baabda, east of the capital Beirut. AFP
Aoun told Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in a phone call that "Saudi Arabia would be the first destination in his visits abroad," it said, after the Saudi prince called to congratulate him on taking office on Thursday following a two-year vacancy in the position.
Earlier Thursday, Aoun was sworn in as Lebanon’s president during a parliamentary session following his election.
Aoun faces the daunting tasks of overseeing a ceasefire with Israel and naming a prime minister to lead reforms demanded by international creditors to save the country from the worst economic crisis in its history.
Aoun is Lebanon's fifth army commander to become president and the fourth in a row.
A billboard celebrating the election of army chief Joseph Aoun, as the Lebanon's president, is seen in Beirut. AFP
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