U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon arrived in the southern coastal town of Naqoura aboard a helicopter on Saturday for talks with the leadership of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon.

Ban was greeted by UNIFIL Force Commander Major-General Alberto Asarta Cuevas and undertook a brief tour by helicopter over the Blue Line.

U.S. Central Command Commander General James Mattis renewed on Friday his country’s commitment to a stable, sovereign and independent Lebanon.

He underscored the United States’ “support in strengthening the capacity of the Lebanese Armed Forces, recognizing its importance in serving as Lebanon’s sole legitimate defense force to secure Lebanon’s borders and defend the sovereignty and independence of the state.”

The Beirut MPs stressed on Wednesday that establishing an arms-free capital does not only include administrative area of the city, but Greater Beirut.

It said after a meeting at parliament: “After holding talks with the president, premier, and speaker over an arms-free capital, it is now time to hold talks with the various political powers.”

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu and the former head of the Arab League, Amr Moussa, are among the high-level dignitaries who would attend a U.N. conference on democracy in the Arab world over the weekend, al-Liwaa daily reported.

The newspaper said Wednesday that Davutoglu and Moussa will address the "Reform and Transitions to Democracy" conference which will also see U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon as a keynote speaker.

The cabinet has so far not included the wage hike on the agenda of a session on Tuesday as it is expected to postpone the matter to next week amid reports of consensus between parties to resolve the issue.

“A settlement emerged as (Free Patriotic Movement MP) Michel Aoun agreed on Monday to find a deal that satisfies employers, employees and Labor Minister Charbel Nahhas,” sources told An Nahar newspaper on Tuesday.

Lebanese officials are seeking to coordinate their stances ahead of U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon’s visit to Beirut on Friday to avoid tarnishing Lebanon’s image, informed sources said.

The sources told An Nahar daily on Tuesday that consultations are underway between major political forces led by Hizbullah to agree on the broad Lebanese stance on several controversial issues that could be discussed by Ban and the Lebanese officials.

The cabinet on Tuesday evening confirmed media reports circulated earlier in the day, postponing the discussion of appointing a secretary general and a political affairs director for the foreign ministry.

Briefing reporters after a cabinet session, acting information minister Wael Abu Faour said the debate was postponed “at the request of Foreign Minister Adnan Mansour, so that all diplomatic appointments take place as one batch.”

President Michel Suleiman on Monday said “it is normal for the cities and villages to be free of weapons,” noting that an “arms-free Beirut” could become an example for other regions to follow.

“This requires a positive collective willpower that facilitates the work of the security forces,” Suleiman said during talks with a delegation of Beirut MPs that visited him to discuss the issue of removing weapons from the capital.

President Michel Suleiman said on Monday a new electoral law is a step towards the implementation of the Taef accord, stressing that it should be based on the principles of the National Pact while following modern trends.

“The electoral law is the right gateway for the practice of sound democracy but it is one of the steps towards the implementation of the Taef agreement such as administrative decentralization and sustainable development,” Suleiman told a conference on proportionality held at the Phoenicia hotel in Beirut.

The cabinet is set to make diplomatic appointments on Tuesday after Foreign Minister Adnan Mansour abided by conditions set by President Michel Suleiman to name three persons for each post and allow the government to choose.

Ministerial sources told An Nahar daily published Monday that putting the appointments on the 48-item agenda of the cabinet came after Suleiman conditioned the minister to propose three candidates for each vacant post.