King Salman received former Lebanese Prime Minister, Saad Al-Hariri, at his Riyadh palace. Al-Hariri praised the King and Kingdom for its military support provided to the Lebanese Army. Beirut received the first part of the new $3 billion Saudi military aid on Monday.
Lebanon will use the Saudi aid to buy “newer and more modern weapons,” from France, said Mr. Sleiman, following what he called “decades of unsuccessful efforts” to build a credible Lebanese national defense force.
The deal will involve about 20 French companies and cover a mix of land, sea and air equipment, including armored vehicles, heavy artillery, anti-tank missiles, mortars and assault weapons, a French defense ministry source has said. The deal was signed in November in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia has already provided around $1 billion in military aid to the Lebanese army.
