The Armenian Ambassador, His Excellency Vahagn Atabekyan, visited the command of Sector West of UNIFIL and the Italian contingent, on the occasion of the change in command of the Armenian contingent.
The ambassador was welcomed by Brigadier General Massimiliano Stecca, commander of the Sector and of the Italian Blue Helmets, with whom he stopped for a brief interview and the signing of the Roll of Honor.
The ambassador subsequently attended the military ceremony of the Armenian contingent, framed in theHead Quarter Support Unit di Sector West, under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Erman Panarese.
Personnel belonging to the Armenian contingent serve at home at the "Army Peacekeeping Brigade" and participate in the Leonte Mission, starting from 2014, following a memorandum of understanding between the Italian and Armenian Ministry of Defense.
The Armenian Blue Helmets contribute to the "Force Protection" of the Shama base, home to the headquarters of Sector West.
The Italian mission in Lebanon is currently led by the "Pozzuolo del Friuli" cavalry brigade, in its sixth term in the "Land of the Cedars" with the colors of the United Nations, and is responsible for West Sector of UNIFIL in which 3800 UN peacekeepers operate from 16 of the 46 contributing countries to the UN mission and of which about 1.000 Italian soldiers are part of.
The Italian contingent operates in Lebanon with impartiality and transparency, close to the Blue Line (blue line), demarcation line with Israel, to ensure stability in the area for over 15 years, monitoring the cessation of hostilities, assisting and supporting the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) and providing support to the local population also through numerous CIMIC projects .
