Twinning Declared between ISF and Police Service of Northern Ireland

Within the framework of the £13million Memorandum of Understanding signed in June 2016 between the British embassy in Beirut and Lebanon's Ministry of Interior, a twinning ceremony was held Tuesday at the Internal Security Forces’ headquarters between the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) and the Lebanese Internal Security Forces.

The strategic twinning between the two police forces aims at strengthening areas of public order, human rights, and coordination and tasking, scenario based training and strategic planning, a British embassy statement said.

British Ambassador to Lebanon Hugo Shorter was accompanied by PSNI Deputy Chief Constable Drew Harris and they were welcomed by the ISF chief Maj. Gen. Ibrahim Basbous and the Head of Aramoun Academy Gen. Ahmed Hajjar.

They were joined at the ceremony by Interior Minister Nouhad al-Mashnouq, Head of ISF Mobile Forces Gen. Fadi Hashem, Head of Police of Beirut Gen. Mohammed Ayoubi, ISF Inspector General Joseph Kallas, and Chief of Staff Gen. Naim Chammas.

The Police Service of Northern Ireland is a force recognized internationally for “excellent work in the fields of community policing, counter terrorism and public order policing,” the embassy said in its statement.

“The visit by DCC Harris will build on the relationships between PSNI and senior officers in the ISF and allow DCC Harris to tour a number of ISF facilities,” it added.

After the twinning, Ambassador Shorter said “today marks yet another major step in our strong strategic relationship with the Internal Security Forces.”

“The Police Service of Northern Ireland have bravely undergone deep reform to become a world leading police force that regularly provides advice to partners around the world on subjects such as public order, community policing and human rights. I am very proud that we are able to introduce a strong friend and mentor to the ISF as it embarks on its own journey of reform, in turn the PSNI will benefit from the lessons learnt by the ISF in policing in such a complex social and security environment,” added Shorter.

The PSNI was formed on November 4, 2001 after decades of sectarian troubles between Republican Catholics seeking independence and Protestant Loyalists seeking to remain part of the United Kingdom.

The predecessor to the PSNI was the Royal Ulster Constabulary, a predominantly Protestant organization. As part of the peace building process it was agreed that a new police force, representing both Catholics and Protestants in equal numbers, was required.