British Chief of the Defence Staff General Sir Nicholas Houghton ended a two-day official visit to Lebanon on Thursday. General Houghton met with his opposite number, Army Commander General Jean Kahwaji and LAF senior officers and later departed Lebanon on a Royal Air Force C130 Hercules Aircraft. This was General Houghton’s third visit to Lebanon.
In his meeting with General Kahwaji, General Houghton discussed the challenges facing Lebanon and how the UK is helping to support the Lebanese Armed Forces in their efforts to maintain stability and security across Lebanon. They discussed and reiterated a shared intention to increase the current high level of engagement between their two Armed Forces.
Chief of the Defence Staff General Sir Nicholas Houghton said:
“The UK and Lebanon share a longstanding Defence relationship. In my meetings with General Kahwaji, I reaffirmed the UK’s continued support for a secure, stable and prosperous Lebanon.”
Lebanon is a partner in the Global Coalition to defeat Daesh and is on the frontline of the crisis in Syria. Our support to the Lebanese army enables them to build their capabilities, strengthen the country’s borders and protect the Lebanese people.
The UK is committed to Lebanon’s stability and resilience through security and training support programmes, and the UK aims to have trained over 11,000 Lebanese soldiers in the specialist techniques of urban counterterrorism by 2019.