French President Emmanuel Macron called on Israel on Friday to accelerate its troop withdrawal from southern Lebanon, as a deadline for the pullout nears under the terms of a ceasefire which ended the war with Hezbollah last year.

The French president is scheduled to meet prime ministerial nominee Nouf Salam and newly elected President Joseph Aoun.

During a press conference at Baabda Palace, Lebanese President Joseph Aoun conveyed a hopeful message to French President Emmanuel Macron. "I hope you will testify to the entire world that the Lebanese people's trust in their country and state has been restored and that the world's confidence in Lebanon must fully return because the true and genuine Lebanon has revived,

New developments following the election of Western-backed Joseph Aoun as president perhaps offer hope for generating political momentum and restoring the international community's confidence in Lebanon.

French President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday welcomed the "crucial election" by Lebanese lawmakers of army chief Joseph Aoun as president after a two-year vacuum at the top, calling his victory an opportunity for reform in the country.

French leader Emmanuel Macron is slated to visit Lebanon on Friday, the Lebanese presidency said, in the second such trip by a head of state since the crisis-hit country elected a president last week.

French leader Emmanuel Macron is due to visit Lebanon on Friday, both countries said, in the second such trip by a head of state since Lebanon elected a president last week.

France's president said Friday that Paris will soon host an aid conference to help rebuild Lebanon after the Israel-Hezbollah war last year, as he visited Beirut in a show of

France plans to hold a conference on Syria in Paris on Feb. 13, the French presidency said in a statement on Thursday.

France's President Emmanuel Macron was in Lebanon on Friday, where he was due to meet his newly-elected counterpart and offer support to leaders seeking to open a new chapter in their country's turbulent history.

French President Emmanuel Macron is in Lebanon, a former French protectorate, to meet with its new leaders. He aims to offer assistance as they seek to pull the country out of its long-running economic crisis.