Germany sees progress toward deportation deal with Lebanon

BERLIN – Germany says it’s making progress in talks with Lebanon on facilitating deportations to the Arab country.

A spokesman for the Interior Ministry says negotiations between the two countries began last March and had already “led to a greatly increased willingness to co-operate by the other side.”

Last year Germany deported 27 people to Lebanon, compared with 9 in 2016.

The spokesman, Johannes Dimroth, said Friday there were a “whole bunch” of issues still to be resolved, including how countries identify their citizens and whether people are deported with charter or regular flights.

The German daily newspaper Bild, which first reported on the talks, said those deported included Palestinian refugees registered in Lebanon and convicted criminals that Germany had struggled to expel.