VATICAN CITY: Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati during a visit to the Vatican on Monday invited Pope Benedict XVI to visit Lebanon next year, an aide from the prime minister's office said.

Mikati communicated the official invitation from President Michel Sleiman.

The Vatican did not say whether the pope would accept the invitation but informed sources said a trip is being planned by the Vatican in April in which the pope would present Middle Eastern bishops with an "apostolic exhortation".

The document represents the conclusion of a Middle Eastern synod in 2010 that emphasised the defence of Christian minorities in the Middle East, which have been emigrating for economic reasons and due to pressure from Islamists.

The meeting between the pope and Mikati, a Sunni Muslim accompanied by several members of his family, lasted around 20 minutes.

If the pope travels to Lebanon it would be his second trip to the region after a visit to Jordan, Israel and the Palestinian Territories in 2009.

The pope is planning another trip next year to Cuba and Mexico.