"The speaker will be meeting President Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed al-Nahayan and top officials to thank them for their support for Lebanon, especially in demining efforts in the south," Berri's media advisor Ali Hamdan told AFP.

Berri, who heads the Shiite Amal movement which is allied with Hizbullah, will also discuss the deportations on his trip next Monday, Hamdan added.

Some of the expellees have said they were thrown out of the UAE over the past three months because they refused to spy on their compatriots and Hizbullah.

"Dozens among us were summoned by the security services in the UAE before being expelled and were asked to spy on fellow Lebanese in the Emirates, as well as Hizbullah members, or face deportation," Hassan Alayan, a spokesman for the group, said earlier this month.

Alayan said the deported initially hoped to resolve the issue quietly but were publicizing their plight given the lack of action by Lebanese and UAE officials.

He said the group plans to take legal action and will ask for compensation.

Both the UAE embassy in Beirut and officials in Abu Dhabi have declined to comment on the case.