AFP - Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri said Tuesday his government was keen on improving its ties with Syria, strained since the killing of his father Rafiq Hariri in 2005.

"The government wants to raise brotherly ties between Lebanon and Syria to a level in line with the two countries' historical ties and mutual interest," Hariri told parliament.

He said relations between the two neighbours must be "based on trust, equality, and mutual respect for each other's sovereignty and independence so that neither country feels threatened by the other."

Hariri, who in the past has implicated Damascus in his father's killing, has never had any official contact with the Syrian regime of Bashar al-Assad.

But he indicated last week that he planned to soon visit Damascus, which in 2005 was forced to withdraw its troops from Lebanon after a 29-year presence.

Presenting his cabinet's policy statement to MPs before a vote of confidence due later this week, Hariri also reiterated Hezbollah's right to its arsenal in order to protect the country from Israeli aggression, despite opposition by some members of his majority coalition.

"The government insists on the right of Lebanon, its government, its people, its army and its resistance (Hezbollah) to liberate" all occupied territory and to defend Lebanon from any aggression.

Hezbollah, which is supported by Syria and Iran, has two ministers in Hariri's 30-member cabinet.

It is the only Lebanon faction that refused to surrender its weapons following the end of the country's 1975-1990 civil war. The militant party fought a devastating war with Israel in 2006 and is listed as a terrorist organisation by Washington.

Hariri in his speech on Tuesday touched on a number of subjects including the environment, education, women's rights and poverty.

He also reiterated his country's refusal to have Palestinian refugees settle permanently in Lebanon.

The UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine refugees (UNRWA) lists almost 400,000 Palestinian refugees in Lebanon, a country of four million inhabitants.

But Lebanese and Palestinian officials say the actual number may be as low as 250,000 as UNRWA does not strike off its figures those who move to other countries.

The majority of the refugees live in dire conditions in 12 camps located across the country.