NNA - Caretaker Minister of National Defense, Maurice Sleem, on Thursday highlighted the paramount importance of the role played by the United Nations Interim Force in South Lebanon (UNIFIL) “maintaining a state of calm and stability in south Lebanon.”
Sleem further stressed the ongoing cooperation with the Lebanese Army, in all fields, to preserve this stability.
The Minister’s words came during his meeting with the Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations at the United Nations, Jean-Pierre Lacroix, and UNIFIL head of mission and Commander-in-Chief, Major General Aroldo Lazaro.
Minister Sleem then renewed, "Lebanon's commitment to all resolutions of international legitimacy, especially UN Security Council Resolution #1701 — in all its provisions."
However, Minister Sleem regretted the painful accident that claimed the life of an Irish peacekeeper, stressing that investigations into this case are ongoing and that the perpetrator is currently under arrest.
For his part, Lacroix lauded the "close coordination between UNIFIL and the Lebanese Army in order to maintain calm and stability in UNIFIL’s area of operations,” affirming continuous efforts at the level of United Nations Member States to secure continued international support for the Lebanese Army.
Lacroix then pointed out that the Al-Aqabiya incident was "a shock to everyone", and stressed that more efforts must be exerted to reduce any sort of tension in south Lebanon.
Lacroix also praised the measures taken by the Lebanese authorities “at all levels”, and expressed hope that the perpetrators of Aqabiya incident will be held accountable.
The Minister of Defense separately welcomed Caretaker Minister of Information, Ziad Makary, with whom he broached the country’s general situation.
Minister Sleem was later briefed by Czech Ambassador to Lebanon, Jiří Doležel, on the visit that the Czech Minister of Defense will pay to Lebanon on March 16 and 17.
During the meeting, the pair touched on cooperation between Lebanon and the Czech Republic in the military field, in addition to the assistance provided to Lebanon in many fields.
For his part, Ambassador Doležel affirmed, "We will continue to work on strengthening relations between the two countries and to provide more support, especially amid the dire circumstances that Lebanon is going through."
The Minister of Defense also had an audience with the Consul of Uganda, Muhammed Khidir Hussain.
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