Rome 2 Conference: Int’l Protection, Improving Lebanese Army’s Capabilities

A convoy of Lebanese Army AIFV-B-C25 of the Maghaweer Regiment in Beirut October 22, 2012.(REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir)
A convoy of Lebanese Army AIFV-B-C25 of the Maghaweer Regiment in Beirut October 22, 2012.(REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir)
TT
20

Rome 2 Conference: Int’l Protection, Improving Lebanese Army’s Capabilities

A convoy of Lebanese Army AIFV-B-C25 of the Maghaweer Regiment in Beirut October 22, 2012.(REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir)
A convoy of Lebanese Army AIFV-B-C25 of the Maghaweer Regiment in Beirut October 22, 2012.(REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir)

The Lebanese government and the army leadership are preparing a well-studied agenda for the Rome 2 conference that is set to be held end of February to back the military and security institutions.

Observers said the conference aims at consolidating international protection for Lebanon’s security, and backing the capabilities of the Lebanese army and security forces as part of a US-led international plan for the country’s legitimate institutions to preserve the border are and stability.

The Lebanese cabinet discussed the conference’s arrangements during its session last Thursday.

Minister of State for Planning Affairs Michel Pharaon said the conference sets stage for the consolidation of international protection for Lebanon's security and stability, and for backing the Lebanese army.

Pharaon told Asharq Al-Awsat that the conference would add to the decisions taken in the Rome 1 conference that was held late 2014 and that led to a security plan, which resolved many security issues across Lebanon.

In the past years, Lebanon has been hit with car bombings in addition to the threat of extremist groups, including ISIS, that infiltrated the northeastern border town of Arsal in August 2014 and kidnapped Lebanese servicemen.

The terrorist threat subsided last year when the Lebanese army launched an operation to end the presence of extremist organizations on Lebanon’s eastern border with Syria.

“The stability of the security situation consolidates political, economic and fiscal stability,” Pharaon said.

A military source told Asharq Al-Awsat that the army is hoping for positive results from the Rome 2 conference regarding assistance to the armed forces.

“Experts from the army will be among the Lebanese delegation participating in the conference,” said the source.

The army leadership has come up with a five-year plan to improve the military’s combat capabilities, and will propose it at the conference that will be attended by several NATO countries, the source added.



Syrian Returns from Lebanon to Start under UN-backed Plan

FILE PHOTO: A Syrian refugee walks near tents, at an informal settlement, in Al-Marj, in Bekaa, Lebanon April 5, 2023. REUTERS/Emilie Madi/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A Syrian refugee walks near tents, at an informal settlement, in Al-Marj, in Bekaa, Lebanon April 5, 2023. REUTERS/Emilie Madi/File Photo
TT
20

Syrian Returns from Lebanon to Start under UN-backed Plan

FILE PHOTO: A Syrian refugee walks near tents, at an informal settlement, in Al-Marj, in Bekaa, Lebanon April 5, 2023. REUTERS/Emilie Madi/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A Syrian refugee walks near tents, at an informal settlement, in Al-Marj, in Bekaa, Lebanon April 5, 2023. REUTERS/Emilie Madi/File Photo

Thousands of Syrian refugees are set to return from Lebanon this week under the first, UN-backed plan providing financial incentives, after Syria's new rulers said all citizens were welcome home despite deep war damage and security concerns.

Returning Syrians will be provided with $100 each in Lebanon and $400 per family upon arrival in Syria, Lebanese Social Affairs Minister Haneen Sayed said. Transport is also covered and fees have been waived by border authorities, she said.

"I think it's a good and important start. We have discussed and are coordinating this with our Syrian counterparts and I think the numbers will increase in the coming weeks," Sayed told Reuters. A Syrian interior ministry spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment.

More than 6 million Syrians fled as refugees after conflict broke out in Syria in 2011, with most heading to Türkiye, Lebanon and Jordan. Lebanon has the highest concentration of refugees per capita in the world, hosting about 1.5 million Syrians among a population of about 4 million Lebanese.

Some 11,000 have registered to return from Lebanon in the first week, and the government targets between 200,000 and 400,000 returns this year under the plan, Sayed said.

The Lebanese government is focused on informal tented settlements in the country, where some 200,000 refugees live, she added, and may provide Syrian breadwinners who stay in Lebanon with work permits for sectors such as agriculture and construction if their families return to Syria.

UN agencies previously viewed Syria as unsafe for large-scale returns due to uncertainty over security and persecution by the government of Bashar al-Assad, who was toppled in December.

That has changed.

Since taking over, the new Syrian government has said all Syrians are welcome home. A UN survey from earlier this year showed nearly 30% of refugees living in Middle Eastern countries wanted to go back, up from 2% when Assad was in power.

"While the situation in Syria continues to rapidly evolve, (UN refugee agency) UNHCR considers the current context a positive opportunity for larger numbers of Syrian refugees to return home, or to begin considering return in a realistic and durable way," Ivo Freijsen, UNHCR Representative in Lebanon, told Reuters.

As of the end of June 2025, UNHCR estimated that over 628,000 Syrians had crossed back to Syria via neighboring countries since 8 December 2024, including 191,000 via Lebanon.