At the end of the meeting, General Portolano said he was satisfied and added: “we must continue to work closely with the Lebanese armed forces and continue the strategic cooperation that has made it possible, so far, to prevent accidents and find peaceful solutions ''. The commander of Unifil then expressed the utmost esteem and admiration for the commitment and sacrifices that the Lebanese soldiers are making for the safety of their people and the territorial integrity of their country.
“In this context”, concluded the general, “I reiterated Unifil's maximum commitment to strengthening the capacities of LAF; in particular, I stressed the importance of the intervention of the International Community for the provision of the necessary resources for the creation of armed forces capable of effectively fulfilling the tasks assigned by Resolution 1701 ''.
Currently, a series of programs aimed at developing LAF capacities are in place, born from bilateral and / or collegiate initiatives. In particular, there are two mechanisms that have recently given an impetus to the development of the Lebanese Defense in all sectors, from operational to logistics and training; it is the Strategic Dialogue and the International Support Group for Lebanon.
The Strategic Dialogue is an initiative born in 2010, aimed at strengthening the LAF with specific reference to the mandate of Resolution 1701. In 2013, the Strategic Dialogue Plan was signed which identifies the objectives that must be achieved in subsequent phases to arrive at the creation of a force capable of assuming full and autonomous control of the Responsibility Area.
The need to be able to count on a stable Lebanon that is able to effectively face the consequences of the Syrian crisis on its territory, not only south of the Litani river where UNIFIL operates, was subsequently implemented by the International Support Group for Lebanon, an international forum created in 2013, in which Italy participates, among others, aimed at financially supporting the Lebanese government for the targeted development of its Armed Forces.
Source: Unifil MPIO, magg. Fabrizio Farese
