KIMO

🇱🇧🇨🇦 I met with Canadian Foreign Minister @AnitaAnandMP in Ottawa for a bilateral meeting, followed by an expanded discussion over breakfast. Together, we launched the Canada Lebanon Partnership for Security and Resilience, a new framework for cooperation on security, stability, humanitarian assistance, governance and development, in support of Lebanon’s sovereignty and the restoration of the State’s exclusive control over arms. We also agreed to establish an annual dialogue at the level of senior officials. Minister Anand informed me that Canada would contribute to three projects: advanced training for the Lebanese Armed Forces’ Special Operations Forces, support for reconciliation and social cohesion, and the protection of civilians from unexploded ordnance and assistance for safe returns. We also discussed developments in southern Lebanon, emphasizing the protection of civilians, the implementation of the trilateral Framework Agreement, and a coordinated transition following UNIFIL’s withdrawal. For my part, I underscored the importance of Canada’s role and reaffirmed that Lebanon makes its own sovereign decisions and needs no one to make them on its behalf. I also conveyed to Minister Anand Lebanon’s request for a unified assistance programme and a statement supporting its sovereignty at the upcoming G7 meeting in Paris.