British Ambassador Hugo Shorter meets Interior Minister Nohad Machnouk

British Ambassador to Lebanon Hugo Shorter met this afternoon with Minister of Interior Nohad Machnouk. After the meeting Ambassador Shorter said:

“I am always glad to meet the Minister of Interior, Mr Nohad Machnouk. I passed on my congratulations to the Minister for the efforts of the Ministry and the ISF, as well as the LAF, in ensuring the generally orderly running and the effective security of the democratic electoral process. I also shared with the Minister my expectation that any election appeals will be handled swiftly and impartially by the competent authorities, and that recommendations by the electoral observation missions will be carefully considered and where appropriate implemented before the next elections.

We discussed the agenda of the next government, particularly the importance of capitalising on the opportunities presented by the recent Rome, CEDRE, and Brussels conferences.  I reiterated the UK’s commitment to maintaining a strong partnership with Lebanon, including in the security sector.  In the week of the International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia, I also recalled the importance of freedom of expression as a fundamental human right.”