Lebanon’s president begins three-day state visit to Spain

MADRID - Lebanon’s President Michel Sleiman began Monday a three-day state visit to Spain with a meeting with Spanish King Juan Carlos.

Sleiman will on Monday meet with Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, who wrapped up a tour of the Middle East on Friday with a stop in Lebanon that included talks with the Lebanese president.

He will wrap up his visit Wednesday with a visit to the future headquarters of the Union for the Mediterranean in Barcelona, which represents over 40 nations in Europe, the Middle East and North Africa.

Sleiman, who is accompanied by Lebanon’s defense, tourism and foreign ministers, is to discuss the Middle East peace process and bilateral relations with Spanish officials during his visit.

About one thousand Spanish soldiers are deployed with the United Nations Interim Forces in Southern Lebanon (UNIFIL).

UNIFIL, which was set up in 1978 to monitor the border between Israel and southern Lebanon, was considerably beefed up in the wake of the 2006 war between Israeli forces and Hezbollah guerrillas.

It currently has 13,000 soldiers from various nationalities and it is headed by Italian General Claudio Graziano. Spain is seeking to take the helm of the force in February 2010.