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Finnish, Estonian PMs visit Lebanon at UN peacekeeping operation

Prime Minister Juha Sipilä is on a rare two-day visit to Lebanon to review Finland's UN peacekeeping operation in the country. Sipilä is traveling with his Estonian counterpart, Prime Minister Taavi Rõivas.

Pääministerit Taavi Rõivas ja Juha Sipilä tapasivat Tallinnassa 9. kesäkuuta 2015.
Pääministerit Taavi Rõivas ja Juha Sipilä tapasivat Tallinnassa 9. kesäkuuta 2015. Image: Raigo Pajula / AFP

During a two-day visit that ends on Tuesday, Sipilä and Rõivas will meet Lebanese political leaders for talks on bilateral relations, the situation in the Middle East and the country's refugee crisis.

Finland, Estonia and Ireland are part of a joint battalion in the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon, UNIFIL, operation in Lebanon.

The leaders will meet with peacekeepers from their respective nations. According to the Estonian Office of the PM, in addition to meeting the peacekeepers and the leadership of the operation, the premiers will also get an overview of the humanitarian and refugee situation in the region.

Sipilä and Rõivas will also meet with Lebanese Prime Minister Tammam Salam and Speaker of Parliament Nabih Berri.

The discussions will focus on bilateral relations between the countries, the Syrian conflict and the wider regional situation in the Middle East, the Office of the Prime Minister wrote in a press release on the matter.

Finland, Estonia and Ireland form a joint battalion in the UNIFIL peacekeeping operation. Finland holds the battalion's lead nation role.