Suleiman Requests Aid for Army to Implement Defense Strategy at Lebanon Support Meeting
President Michel Suleiman hoped on Wednesday that the international community will commit to pledges it had made towards Lebanon concerning tackling the Syrian refugees and assisting the Lebanese army.
He said: “We hope the international community will support the army to help it implement a defense strategy that I had proposed at the national dialogue.”
He made his remarks during the opening of the International Support Group meeting in Paris, France alongside President Francois Hollande.
He thanked Saudi King Abdullah for his kingdom's three-billion-dollar grant to the army, while also hailing the Italian government for providing equipment and training to the troops.
He noted that the meeting “demonstrates the international community's keenness to help Lebanon.”
“We are determined to overcome the various obstacles that are facing the country in implementing various projects aimed at revitalizing its economy,” Suleiman continued.
Moreover, he hoped that countries would contribute to the fund aimed at aiding Lebanon.
Addressing the flow of Syrian refugees to Lebanon, the president lamented that the “aid to the refugees has not met our expectations.”
“Countries should commit to the pledges they made towards the refugees,” he demanded.
“We ask for the international community's help in confronting the consequences of the Syrian crisis on Lebanon,” he urged, while hoping that Lebanon will be “kept neutral from the conflict.”
For his part, Hollande said: “There are more than one million Syrian refugees in Lebanon. It is a very heavy burden.”
Hollande, who has previously said France is willing to assist Lebanon in any way it needs, said the meeting should focus on more than just "moral and political" support -- calling for donors to provide training and equipment to Lebanese troops.
In an official communique about the Group's opening session, the conferees stressed “the continued need for coordinated and strong international support for Lebanon to help it confront the various challenges that its security and stability are facing.”
The participants also called on “all parties in Lebanon cooperate to secure the continuity of state institutions,” stressing “the crucial importance of confidence and stability in Lebanon for holding the presidential and parliamentary elections on time.”
The conferees urged all Lebanese parties to “abide by the Baabda Declaration and Lebanon's dissociation policy,” condemning “the recurrent terrorist bombings in Lebanon” and highlighting the need for “further international support for the Lebanese security authorities.”
Participants noted the launch on February 20 of a coordination mechanism in support of the five-year plan to equip the Lebanese Army, saying they are looking forward to “the conference that the Italian government intends to host in Rome in support of the army, which will create a collective, concentrated opportunity to boost international assistance.”
They welcomed the pledges made at the January 15 International Donor Conference in Kuwait and highlighted the need both for delivery of the assistance pledged to be expedited and for further assistance as requested in the Regional Response Plan, encouraging the Lebanese government to “coordinate closely with the U.N. and other partners to address the critical humanitarian needs of refugees in Lebanon.”
The conferees also noted “the value of the aid that was offered to Lebanon through long-term partnerships, which have intensified since the eruption of the Syrian crisis.”
On Wednesday evening and at the end of the discussions, Suleiman thanked the participants for “their commitment to support Lebanon, its economy and its army, for insisting on preserving the country's stability and for providing aid to deal with the refugees' crisis.”
"The united international stand backing Lebanon must motivate local and regional groups to neutralize the country from the negative repercussions of the crises in its surroundings and to engage in finding solutions to these conflicts,” Suleiman said.
Separately, the president discussed bilateral relations with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, tackling also Washington's support to the military institution.
The meeting was attended by the foreign ministers of 10 countries, including Britain, China, France, Russia, the United States, Germany and Saudi Arabia.
The Lebanese delegation included Foreign Minister Jebran Bassil and several of Suleiman's advisors.
The support group was set up in New York in September 2013 on the sidelines of the 68th session of the General Assembly to help Beirut deal with the implications of the brutal war in Syria that began in March 2011.
It is intended to provide financial, political and security support to the country.
It undertook to work together to mobilize support for the sovereignty and state institutions of Lebanon and to highlight and promote efforts to assist the country where it was most affected by the Syrian crisis, including in respect of strengthening the capacity of the Lebanese army, assistance to refugees, and structural and financial support to the government.
The number of Syrian refugees in Lebanon has surged to more than 900,000 according to the United Nations' refugee agency (UNHCR) and Lebanon is facing difficulties in coping with their burden.
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