Tag: international community

21st November 2016 Beirut, Lebanon

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by Hugo Shorter

British Ambassador to Lebanon

To 365 Days of Independence

Mabrouk, Lebanon! There is a positive new mood in the country. Posters have gone up, and flags been hoisted. Just last week I was treated to a truly stately guard of honour and credentials ceremony at Baabda Palace, and was honoured to finally present my credentials to President Aoun. It has been a long time […]

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16th March 2016 Beirut, Lebanon

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by Hugo Shorter

British Ambassador to Lebanon

Five years of War in Syria: how international support for Lebanon is changing

It has been five years since the Syria conflict began. Five years of barrel bombs, mass executions and disappearances. Five years of people being forced from their homes because they fear for their lives. And for many of those who fled to Lebanon, what they expected to be a temporary move has become a painful […]

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16th January 2015 Beirut, Lebanon

Tom Fletcher

by Tom Fletcher

Former British Ambassador to Lebanon

Parting Shots – An Alternative View of the UK in the Middle East

All over the Foreign Office network, we draw on advice and analysis from our brilliant locally engaged staff. One of our colleagues here, Nadim Zaazaa, is leaving us to work on an exciting project – the UK-Lebanon Tech Hub. See here for more details. He shared with me some parting thoughts about the Middle East, […]

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3rd September 2014

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by Nigel Baker

Ambassador to the Holy See (2011-2016)

Responding to ISIL

There has, rightly, been enormous concern expressed across the world about the recent turn of events in Northern Iraq. The expulsion of the Christian communities from Mosul and the 13 villages of the Plain of Nineveh – an historic heartland inhabited by Christians from the earliest days, well known from, amongst other sources, the story […]

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23rd April 2012 Washington DC, USA

UK finances Afghan Forces beyond 2014

At the 18 April meeting of the NATO Foreign and Defence Ministers in Brussels, the British Defence Secretary, Philip Hammond announced a firm UK commitment to help fund the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF) after 2014. He said “The UK contribution of £70m per annum to the funds to support the Afghan National Security Forces will make […]

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