Qahwaji Signs Detailed Lebanese-French Agreement on Equipping Army
Army Commander General Jean Qahwaji on Tuesday signed a detailed agreement for equipping the army as part of the Saudi military grant to Lebanon.
“Gen. Jean Qahwaji inked the detailed Lebanese-French agreement on equipping the Lebanese army, as part of the grant offered by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia,” said a statement published on the army's website.
Al-Mustaqbal newspaper had reported on Sunday that head of the ODAS company Admiral Edouard Guillaud was scheduled to return to Lebanon this week in order to place the “finishing touches” of the Saudi-French arms deal.
It said the French official was scheduled to arrive in Lebanon on Tuesday to make the final signatures of the deal ahead of its implementation.
The first shipment of French weapons, part of the $3 billion deal, is expected to arrive in Lebanon within the next two months.
Guillaud had signed last week with Qahwaji the first phase of the Saudi-French deal.
He later traveled to Saudi Arabia for the signatures of Saudi officials.
France and Saudi Arabia signed the arms agreement at the beginning of November for Paris to provide the Lebanese military with the $3 billion worth of weapons paid for by Riyadh.
The deal, which was first announced in December 2013, aims at boosting the army as it struggles to contain a rising tide of violence linked to the civil war in Syria.
In August, head of the Mustaqbal Movement MP Saad Hariri unveiled Saudi Arabia's $1 billion grant to the Lebanese army, which is aimed at assisting it in its fight against terrorist groups.
Y.R.
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