On Wednesday, 2 December, UNIFIL Head of Mission and Force Commander Major-General Luciano Portolano held a meeting with Ambassadors of UNIFIL Troop Contributing Countries (TCCs), Permanent Members of the UN Security Council and representative of the EU Delegation to Lebanon at UNIFIL House in Beirut. The UN Special Coordinator for Lebanon Ms. Sigrid Kaag also addressed the meeting.

The purpose of this bi-annual meeting was to update the participants on the situation in the UNIFIL area of operations and the work carried out by UNIFIL in close coordination with the Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF).

During the meeting, the UNIFIL Head of Mission noted the continued calm and stability in the area of operations amidst the regional turmoil. He attributed this to UNIFIL's close partnership with the Lebanese Armed Forces and security agencies, as well as the strong support to the Mission from all Lebanese stakeholders: government and local authorities, religious leaders and the people of South Lebanon.

Major-General Portolano expressed sincere gratitude to all troop contributors and other international partners for their steadfast support to UNIFIL. He outlined UNIFIL's efforts towards enhancing the capacity of the LAF through the strategic dialogue process and reiterated the critical importance of international support to the LAF.

Today, UNIFIL comprises over 10,000 military personnel from 40 countries, including the Maritime Task Force, the only naval force in peacekeeping operations - and around 900 civilian national and international staff.