In the continuation of the meetings, General Serra, in anticipation of the end of his mandate, took the opportunity to express his thanks for the praiseworthy support received and addressed the aspects related to the mandate of UNIFIL in relation to the implementation of Council resolution 1701 of United Nations Security with particular regard to the concrete results achieved in the last two and a half years of mandate thanks to the cooperation between UNIFIL and the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF). General Serra, expressing his deep appreciation, added “in a complex regional context, stability in southern Lebanon has been maintained thanks to the close collaboration underway with the LAF, consolidating the common commitment in compliance with United Nations Resolution 1701. 
At the end of the talks, the Lebanese political and military leaders unanimously expressed their deep gratitude for the concrete support received by the UNIFIL Mission, underlining how the work of General Serra guaranteed the effective conduct of operations in Southern Lebanon in full compliance with the mandate defined by the resolution of the United Nations, and have expressed wishes to his successor for a mandate of satisfaction. In the continuation of the high-level meetings, General Serra received the honor of the légion d'honneur from the French ambassador and the ordem do mérito da Defesa and the ordem do mérito naval from the Brazilian ambassador in Beirut (photo to the right). As known Unifil operates in a very delicate context that from 1978 to today is constantly evolving. The Head of Mission and Force Commander of UNIFIL exercises the functions assigned under the Resolution 1701 of the United Nations Security Council of 2006, thanks to the action carried out on the ground by 38 different Nations that contribute to the mission with about 12000 peacekeepers .
Source: UNIFIL MPIO - magg. Antonio Bernardo
