BY THÉRÈSE MARGOLIS
The News
Mexico’s participation in an international conference earlier this week to discuss support for Lebanon’s military will help broaden bilateral relations between the two countries, Lebanese Ambassador to Mexico Hicham Hamdan said Thursday.
The conference, titled the Ministerial Conference on International Support for the Lebanese Armed Forces and held in Rome last Tuesday under the auspices of U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, was attended by representatives from 43 countries, including Mexico.
“The reason Mexico participated in the conference was the result of a recommendation from my chancellery here to my government,” Hamdan told The News in an interview.
“I feel it is important that Mexico participated because Mexico has a large community of people of Lebanese descent and is an important global player. And I think that Mexico’s participation represents an important step forward in fostering our two-way ties in all fields, including commerce, economics and culture.”
Its primary objective of the one-day conference was to endorse the Lebanese military in squelching the threat of extremist groups in the region.
The Lebanese military has been overseeing a caretaker government in Lebanon since Michel Suleiman’s six-year presidential term came to an end last month. Deeply divided political camps within the country’s parliament have been unable to agree on a successor.
During a conference, which hosted by the Italian Foreign Affairs Minister Federica Mogherini, the participating countries vowed to provide long-term, structured and logistical support to promote political stability in Lebanon through its military and to endorse the army’s fight against terrorism in a region threatening to become engulfed in what Hamdan called “the fire of extremist groups burning in nearby countries such as Syria and Iraq.
Many of the participating countries in the Rome conference promised the poorly equipped Lebanese military specialized training and advisory support, although there were no specific offers of funding or arms.
Brazil, Cyprus, Egypt, Finland, France, Ghana, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, Romania, Spain and Turkey all expressed their willingness to offer additional specialized training support in a number of fields.
The European Union, meanwhile, pledged to step up its support for the Lebanese army in terms of civilian-military cooperation tasks, institutional capacity building, integrated border management and demining.
Hamdan said that it is very important both for the international community and for the Lebanese people – including those who live abroad – to uderstand the crucial message that the conference conveyed.
“Lebanon has always been a cultural bridge between the East and West, and it has been tangible evidence that diverse religious faiths can coexist peacefully in the region,” he said.
“I believe that the message that the world must take away from this conference is that Lebanon is a beacon for the rest of the region and the missive of the United Nations that the world cannot and will not tolerate wars based on religious divisions. Such wars are no longer acceptable in the 21st century.”
The ambassador likewise said that Lebanon, which has a long history of democracy, can also serve as a model for other countries in the region.
He said that it is particularly important for political and social stability to be reestablished in Lebanon because it will help encourage regional stabilization. Notwithstanding, Hamdan said that the world must be patient with his country as it undergoes the growing pains of political transition.
“Lebanon has been a victim of external political interventions that have torn our country apart and made it very difficult to govern since 1975. We are working toward peace and stability in the region, but we do need the support of the international community.”
The UN conference came under the remittance of the International Support Group for Lebanon, created late last year to help salvage the country’s economy, deal with the the Syrian refugee crisis and support the military.
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