Updated

Lebanese army chief Rodolphe Haykal met with Italian counterpart Luciano Portolano during a visit to Italy to discuss bilateral military cooperation and plans for the period after the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) ends its mission. Portolano emphasized that Lebanon's stability remains a "strategic priority" for Italy. The talks come as Lebanon prepares for a security transition once the decades-old UN peacekeeping mission departs, with allied nations exploring how to maintain stability along the Lebanon-Israel border afterward.