The presentation ceremony of the first two nautical charts co-produced by the Hydrographic Service of the Lebanese Navy took place on 21 December in Beirut, capital of the Land of the Cedars (Lebanese Navy Hydrographic Service - LNHS) and byHydrographic Institute of the Navy (IIM). The two nautical charts produced represent the approach and port of Beirut and adhere to stringent and rigorous international standards. The presentation ceremony of the two new nautical charts was held in the presence of the Chief of Staff of the Lebanese Defense, General Joseph Aoun, of the Ambassador of Italy to Lebanon, Nicoletta Bombardiere, of the director of the Hydrographic Institute of the Navy, Rear Admiral Massimiliano Nannini and his Lebanese counterpart, Frigate Captain Afif Ghaith.
The result of intense collaborative work, the cards produced open the last phase of the Italian initiative to support Lebanon in the creation of an autonomous and independent national hydrographic service, with the aim of guaranteeing navigation safety in its own waters and promoting blue economy.
Lebanon, on 7 December 2020, was, in fact, the 94th country in the world to join theInternational Hydrographic Organization, an international organization that deals with the standardization and development of hydrography and nautical cartography, and the decision of the country to join the IHO indicates how the Italian project has had a strong international connotation aimed at investing in the blue development of the eastern Mediterranean.
The Italian-Lebanese project, which began in 2014, immediately represented a courageous and today successful initiative of the Italian Navy to support international cooperation through structured interventions with objectives that promote progress and development. The Hydrographic Institute of the Navy, which in Italy is the only cartographic body of the state that represents the marine environment on official papers and publications, has been at the service of the Italian community and sustainable development for 150 years. The action of the IIM in favor of the creation and development of the LNHS is today a model for the entire international hydrographic community.
