Paris: France will provide $17 million worth of aid to the Lebanese army, to include training and equipment such as anti-tank missiles, an official said on Thursday.
The aid is part of efforts to strengthen Lebanon’s institutions and boost security amid growing internal political tensions.
The army, one of the few institutions not overtaken by the sectarian divisions that plague Lebanon, has few resources to deal with the instability on its border with Syria, and has been seeking to modernise its hardware.
Lebanon was plunged into crisis in November when Prime Minister Sa’ad Hariri abruptly announced his resignation - since withdrawn - thrusting his country to the forefront of a regional tussle between Saudi Arabia and Iran, whose Lebanese ally Hezbollah is part of the Beirut government.
“The new Saudi leadership doesn’t have the same relationship with Lebanon as in the past and no longer wants to invest billions in the country,” the French official said.
“So we are in a phase where we are consolidating the situation.” Lebanon’s defence minister was in Paris on Thursday to prepare the first of three conferences aimed at helping different sectors in the country.
An event on March 15 in Rome is intended to support the army, one on April 6 in Paris to aid the private sector, and another on April 25 in Brussels to address the refugee issue.
Lebanon is currently hosting around 1.5 million Syrian refugees.
