During a ceremony that took place in a military hangar of the Rafic Hariri International Airport, in Beirut, Lebanese Defense Minister Samir Moqbel stressed that the arsenal will help preserve the stability of this nation in the face of frequent provocations by Israel and armed attacks by Islamic extremist groups.
Moqbel, also Deputy Prime Minister, received the shipment from the French Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian, who arrived in the capital the previous night, along with approximately 60 officers to preside over the transfer and oversee the training of Lebanese troops.
The training of soldiers and officers of this Arab country is part of the aid program within the Saudi-French-Lebanese tripartite agreement to equip the Armed Forces and Internal Security with matÿriel to address terrorist threats, especially in the vast border with Syria.
During today's ceremony, which was also attended by Army Commander General Jean Qahwaji, and the Saudi ambassador in Beirut, Ali Awadh Asiri, it was emphasized that national troops pay a high price for the pressure from bands like the Islamic State and the Al-Nusra Front.
The second arms shipment will reach Lebanon in May, announced Minister Le Drian, indicating that France will oversee the implementation of the Saudi agreement for a period of 10 years with the alleged purpose of modernizing and restructuring the security forces.
This program will make this armed body capable of entering a new era of cutting-edge military operations, he said, and praised the efforts of the local army to prevent infiltration into the territory of the Sunni fundamentalist groups operating out of Syria, the Prensa Latina News Agency reports said.
The Lebanese-Saudi agreement was first announced in 2013 under the mandate of President Michel Sleiman, but took time to materialize because of fears of France and the United States that the arsenal of this Arab country could endanger the safety of their ally, Israel, analysts said.
Moqbel assured that the government of Prime Minister Tammam Salam is still pending the decision of Iran's offer of supplying weapons to Lebanon, although he justified the delay in responding with the fact that he waits for the Security Council of the UN to lift sanctions to Tehran.
