U.S. Embassy Charge d’Affaires Meets Charbel, Renews Commitment to Strengthening ISF

Charge d’Affaires at the U.S. Embassy in Beirut, Richard M. Mills, Jr., held talks on Monday with Interior Minister Marwan Charbel on the political and security situation in Lebanon and Syria, said the embassy in a statement.

He expressed his country’s “dedication to strengthening the Internal Security Forces as a modern professional police force that serves and protects all of Lebanon’s citizens.”

He also voiced the United States’ appreciation for the efforts of the ISF and the Lebanese army to work together to maintain calm in Lebanon.

Mills and Charbel discussed the political and security situation in Lebanon and the current situation in Syria, added the statement.

They addressed U.S. support for training the Internal Security Forces and the issue of trafficking-in-persons, with Mills highlighting global efforts to combat it.

He welcomed the Lebanese government’s enactment of an anti-trafficking law and encouraged the government to implement the law and to undertake further efforts to prevent trafficking, protect victims, and prosecute violators.

Mills underscored that the U.S. remains concerned that developments in Syria not contribute to instability in Lebanon, continued the statement.

He renewed the commitment of the United States to a stable, sovereign, and independent Lebanon.