Minister of State for Security the Rt Hon Ben Wallace MP has ended a two day visit to Lebanon, where he highlighted the strength of the UK’s security partnership with Lebanon, a press release said on Friday.
During his two-day, the Minister met Foreign Minister Jebran Bassil and Interior Minister Nouhad al-Mashnouq; the heads of the Armed Forces, Internal Security Forces and General Security, as well as other senior security chiefs; and witnessed UK projects to support the Lebanese Armed Forces and Internal Security Forces.
The UK has committed $100m since 2011 to supporting Lebanese security through our partnership with Lebanese security forces, it said.
During his visit to Hamat Air Base, Minister Wallace learned how the LAF are effectively countering Daesh in the Qalamoun; discussed UK support to secure 100% of Lebanon’s border with Syria by 2019; and observed a live training demonstration on counter IED, as well as a new LAF training component on International Humanitarian Law, where he addressed LAF officers and spoke to them about the important of respect for humanitarian law and human rights. By 2019, the UK will have trained around 11,000 soldiers for frontline operations across Lebanon.