As part of the ongoing work to support demining operations in Lebanon, a delegation from Netherland and Sweden; ambassadors in Lebanon, Director of the Swedish International Development Agency (SIDA) and representatives of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) visited a minefield which is ongoing operations by MAG in Meiss Al Jabal, and was received by Brig. Gen. Ziad Nasr, Director of the Lebanon Mine Action Center and LMAC officers, on 30/11/2017.

The aim of this visit was to keep the mine problem at the heart of the international community's attention and to review the activities of the Lebanon Mine Action Center.

Brigadier General Ziad Nasr welcomed the delegation and thanked them for their interest in the mine problem in Lebanon. The delegation thanked the Lebanon Mine Action Center for the facilities it provided for the visit, which is an opportunity to show cooperation with the LMAC in this regard to reach the strategy for mine action and the needs for further action, in order to urge their governments to provide the necessary support.

From his part, Brig. Gen. ziad Nasr spoke about the main donor countries that are assisting Lebanon in this field and the strategic plan that LMAC has put in place to end the problem of mines, cluster bombs and unexploded ordnance. He also said that Lebanon played a key role in convening the Oslo conference to ban the use of cluster bombs. Lebanon was one of the first signatories to the agreement that resulted, but the goal of clearing cluster bombs is difficult to be reached because of lack of funding.

In terms of mines on the Blue Line, there is a ready plan prepared by the LMAC, but clearance progress is slow because of the lack of funding, and the land is being invested by the owners in all areas of work (agricultural, industrial, commercial and urban). Also Brig. General Nasr praised the RSHDL which was launched last month and is responsible to train civilian and military students from Lebanon and various countries of the world.

At the end of the visit, the delegation attended a mine explosion demolition process and thanked the LMAC for its hospitality and appreciated the work it had done and pledged their efforts to secure the necessary support to address the mine problem in Lebanon.