BEIRUT: Brazil delivered Monday a high-tech frigate and more than 200 naval personnel to serve with the United Nations’ peacekeeping fleet in the eastern Mediterranean.

A handover ceremony at Beirut port was attended by President Michel Sleiman and Brazilian Vice President Michel Temer, who is on an official visit to Lebanon.

“The frigate is one of the most modern ships we have in the navy right now,” a Brazilian diplomat told The Daily Star.

Brazil currently heads the U.N. Interim Force in Lebanon’s Maritime Task Force, which is mandated with ensuring the arms embargo, installed under U.N. Security Council Resolution 1701, is enforced.

UNIFIL commander Major General Alberto Asarta Cuevas and MTF Commander Luiz Henrique Caroli accompanied Sleiman and Temer aboard the vessel, which docked in Beirut at noon local time. Brazil upped its contingent size in the MTF from 10 to 249 – a gesture the diplomat said demonstrated Brazil’s growing commitment to peacekeeping in Lebanon.

“Brazil, until a year ago was not a part of UNIFIL. This is part of our being more present in Lebanon. This will serve as the main ship of the fleet and it will work together with the other ships to follow the mandate of the MTF,” the diplomat said.

Sleiman’s appearance at the port, which was conducted under a heavy security presence, marks the president’s first official visit to an MTF contingent.

Brazil’s frigate will serve as the flagship to a fleet comprising vessels from Bangladesh, Greece, Indonesia and Turkey. The MTF is also tasked with building capacity within the fledgling Lebanese Navy.

UNIFIL Deputy Spokesperson Andrea Tenenti said that the force welcomed Brazil’s contribution.

“This in a way demonstrates Brazil’s commitment to maintain peace and this will increase the capability of the MTF,” Tenenti told The Daily Star.

Since its inception in 2006, UNIFIL’s MTF has hailed over 14,000 suspicious vessels in Lebanon’s coastal waters and transferred roughly 1,500 to Lebanese authorities. It has also assisted Lebanese naval vessels in several rescue operations, following the sinking, due to adverse weather, of two cargo boats in the eastern Mediterranean in 2009.

Temer, who Sunday visited his ancestral home of Koura, will take part in celebrations of Independence Day before returning to Brazil.

“He was invited to take part in Independence Day celebrations [and] the visit coincided with lots of other things,” the diplomat said.

There are millions of Lebanese expatriates in Brazil, and remittances sent from the South American country continue to form a vital part of Lebanon’s economy. The diplomat said that Brazil was keen on upping ties with Beirut.

“Lebanon is important for Brazil and we have always worked together,” the diplomat said. “Now we are both part of the U.N. Security Council and there is a lot of harmony with our policies at the U.N. We’re close.”