The Army Command, in cooperation with the Office of the Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General in Lebanon UNSCOL, organized a meeting at the ambassadorial level to follow up on the results of the Paris Conference held on June 17 in support of the Lebanese Army.
The meeting was attended by Armed Forces Commander General Joseph Aoun, UN Special Coordinator Joanna Wronecka, UNIFIL Commander General Stefano Del Col and the ambassadors, chargé d’affaires, and military attaches of: the United Kingdom, the United States of America, Italy, France, Germany, Canada, Russia, China, Netherlands, Finland, Turkey, Spain, Belgium, Sweden, Denmark, South Korea, European Union, Egypt, United Arab Emirates, Iraq, Qatar, Oman, Bahrain, Kuwait, Morocco, Jordan, Tunisia, India, Mexico, Norway, Nigeria, and Kazakhstan.
In an address at the meeting, Wronecka said “the crisis in Lebanon affects the operational capabilities of the Lebanese Army. Therefore, the need to support it is more urgent than ever.”
“Resolution 2591, which was adopted by the UN Security Council, includes in its tenth paragraph a call for more international support for the army. Therefore, I call on colleagues to adhere to this resolution in seeking to do everything possible to assist the Lebanese army and security institutions,” she added.
“In this context, the United Nations is seeking to adopt a mechanism to facilitate the transfer of cash assistance to the LAF and the other Lebanese security services,” Wronecka said.
Aoun, in turn, thanked the “participating countries for their support and aid to the army, in light of the difficult circumstances that Lebanon is experiencing,” and said: “You were our partners in our battle against terrorism. Today, the army is fighting a battle of a different nature, perhaps more dangerous than conventional military war, which is how to deal with the current economic crisis while continuing to carry out our operational tasks and provide the minimum necessities of life for our soldiers and their families, which has become our priority today.”
He stressed that “the army will remain the backbone of Lebanon and the guarantor of security and stability, not only for Lebanon, but for the region as a whole.”
Source: National News Agency