Remarks at a Dinner hosted by President and First Lady Sleiman
Beirut, Lebanon, 14th October 2011
Shukran Fakhamat al Rais. [Thank you, Your Excellency, the President].
Your Excellency President Sleiman, whom I must thank for your kind remarks,
First Lady Wafaa Sleiman, Excellencies, Distinguished Guests,
Masaa’ al-Khair. Good evening
It is truly an honour and a great pleasure for Martin and me to be back in the Arab Republic of Lebanon on what is my last visit abroad as President of Ireland.
My very first visit abroad fourteen years ago when I became the 8th President of Ireland in 1997 was also to this very beautiful country of yours, so very much like our own country in terms of population size, a turbulent history, generations of outside occupation and intervention, inter-communal divisions, emigration and stunted economic development but, at the same time, countries and peoples strong in character, in traditions, in resilience and an absolute determination to build a better future.
Despite our small size, both our countries have also been strongly pro-active on the world stage and have attained a high international profile in the global arena, as testified, for example by Lebanon's chairing of the UN Security Council last month, Ireland's pending role as the Chair of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe next year and the leading roles which both our countries played in the development of the Convention on Cluster Munitions, which was agreed in Dublin in May 2008. May I take this opportunity to congratulate the Lebanese Government on the success of the third Meeting of States Parties to that Convention, which was hosted here last month.
The ties of friendship and understanding between our two countries and people were forged during some of the darkest days in your country's history when, over 23 years, well over 20,000 Irish peacekeepers came to Lebanon in the service of UNIFIL to protect Lebanon's sovereignty and stability and to help restore peace to your country and region. 47 of our Irish peacekeepers lost their lives in the cause, more than any other UN peacekeeping force. May I take this opportunity to recall the sacrifice of these brave peacekeepers and the terrible loss to their loved ones.
It is a source of great pride to us in Ireland that once again a Battalion of our troops has returned to serve with UNIFIL in Tibnin and I am looking forward very much to visiting the Irish Battalion under the command of Lt Col. Frank Bolger, tomorrow. I am glad that he was able to join us here this evening. We know that this is a difficult and uncertain time in your region, that the UNIFIL mission is a difficult and potentially dangerous one. But the return of the Irish to UNIFIL is testament to our belief that the role of UNIFIL remains of vital importance to Lebanon and the neighbourhood at this time. We know that UNIFIL is working closely and effectively with the Lebanese Armed Forces, whose role I also very much commend. It is essential that all is done to ensure the security and safety of UNIFIL and its peacekeepers while they are engaged in this key mission.
When I was last here in 1997 at the beginning of my Presidency, I witnessed the city of Beirut and its population which had been ravaged by decades of war and occupation. Coming from Northern Ireland as I do, and therefore no stranger to conflict it evoked a sadness in my heart as I witnessed the havoc that conflict had wreaked here. I have returned just 14 years later to find a thriving, reconstructed, beautiful city - a city which I very much hope to be able to explore a little in the coming days - and a country moving forward at a rapid pace in terms of its economic and social development. During those years my own country has also experienced phenomenal change and, despite current economic setbacks, Ireland remains a strong and progressive country within Europe, with a highly innovative, open and globalised economy, high export performance, a country and people intent on meeting head on the challenges we face and securing a brighter and better future for all its people.
As both our countries and peoples look to the future, it is my fervent hope that we can join hands in broadening our ties of friendship into much closer, and mutually beneficial, economic co-operation. I believe we have much to learn from one another, much to share with each other, many avenues to explore in terms of business and trade opportunities and everything to gain from growing and developing such ties between our two peoples. In this regard too, I am delighted to learn that His Excellency, Nabih Berri, the distinguished Speaker of your National Assembly, has recently established a Lebanon-Ireland parliamentary committee and I hope that this will provide an opportunity for the broadening of political links between our countries and our political representatives.
Please join with me now in a toast to the health of His Excellency, the President of the Republic, to peace in your land and for your people, and to the deepening of the bonds of friendship between our two countries and peoples.