UNIFIL Head Pays Farewell Visits to Lebanese Leaders

UNIFIL Head of Mission and Force Commander Major General Luciano Portolano on Monday paid farewell visits to a number of senior Lebanese officials including Speaker Nabih Berri and Prime Minister Tammam Salam, in the capital Beirut, a UNIFIL statement said.

Portolano also held phone talks with Army Commander General Jean Qahwaji, Army Chief of Staff Maj. Gen. Walid Salman and the head of the army's intelligence directorate, Brig. Gen. Camille Daher.

During his meetings, Portolano expressed satisfaction that, during his two years in Lebanon as the UNIFIL head, he “felt being very close to the country, the people and the authorities,” UNIFIL's statement said.

“The people of Lebanon welcomed me as one of them,” he said during the meetings.

“Their support and appreciation for the work carried out by UNIFIL has been extremely valuable. As the UNIFIL Head of Mission, I attach great importance to the Mission’s relationship with the people of the south as a key element to the success of the Mission,” he added.

During the talks, the outgoing head of UNIFIL also took special note of the Mission’s “extremely effective” coordination arrangements with the Lebanese army and other Lebanese security apparatuses in the implementation of U.N. Security Council Resolution 1701 (2006).

Portolano said: “I was proud to work hand-in-hand with such encouraging leaders and I assured them that all our personnel – both military and civilian – will continue working with full respect for the religious beliefs, traditions and cultural sensitivities of the host population.”

“Thanks to the unflinching support of the Lebanese authorities and LAF (Lebanese army), UNIFIL has always been able to find effective solutions aimed at de-escalating tensions in its area of operations in south Lebanon,” he added.

“Preserving stability is in the interest of the parties and everybody is enjoying the calm that has largely prevailed in the south in recent years,” Portolano went on to say.

The major general is leaving UNIFIL next month after two years at the helm of the U.N. peacekeeping mission.

Over the course of this week, Portolano will be meeting a number of senior Lebanese figures as part of his farewell visits.

The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon, or UNIFIL, has around 12,000 soldiers from 35 countries.

The force was created in 1978 to help Lebanon restore government control over southern Lebanon after the Israeli invasion, and it was beefed up in 2006 after the devastating war between Israel and Hizbullah.