BEIRUT: Italian President Giorgio Napolitano held talks over dinner with President Michel Sleiman at Baabda Palace following his arrival in Beirut on Monday night accompanied by a delegation of Italian state officials.
Napolitano arrived at Rafik Hariri International Airport on a private plane, where he was received by Sleiman’s representative, caretaker Prime Minister Fouad Siniora; Minister of State Nassib Lahoud; and Italy’s Ambassador to Lebanon Gabriele Checchia.
Napolitano, accompanied by his defense minister, is to visit Tuesday the Italian Battalion, part of the United Nations Interim Force for Lebanon (UNIFIL) in south Lebanon.
UNIFIL was established by a UN Security Council Resolution in 1978 to confirm Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon, restore international peace and security and assist the Lebanese government in restoring its effective authority in the area.
As of June, Italy continued to deploy the biggest component of the peacekeeping force, with 2,662 troops, followed by France (1,444), Indonesia (1,248) and Spain (1,044).
Following Israel’s 2006 summer war on Lebanon, the Security Council issued Resolution 1701. This enhanced the force and bolstered its original mandate to include monitoring the cessation of hostilities and increasing its military and humanitarian roles.
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