Lebanese army chief General Rodolph Haykal has received US Central Command (Centcom) commander Admiral Brad Cooper and a military delegation at his office in Yarze town, south of Beirut, Al Jazeera reports citing Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency.

The pair have discussed the latest developments in Lebanon and the wider Middle East, as well as ways to strengthen future cooperation between the two armies.

Haykal has expressed gratitude for US support, saying, “The necessity of continued cooperation between the two armies in a way that preserves Lebanon’s security and stability”.

The meeting comes as Lebanon moves to implement the trilateral framework agreement signed in Washington last Friday, which sets out a sequenced process for Israeli withdrawal from southern Lebanon tied to the disarmament of Hezbollah.