Prime Minister David Cameron arrived in Lebanon today on his first official visit. He held meetings with his Lebanese counterpart Prime Minister Tammam Salam, and met with Syrian refugees in the Bekaa as well as Lebanese and Syrian schoolchildren in Beirut. The visit was an opportunity to renew the UK’s commitment to support Lebanon’s stability, to urge political parties to elect a President as soon as possible, and to better understand the challenges facing the country.

The Prime Minister saw firsthand how the UK’s $450 million for Lebanon is making a difference to Lebanese host communities and helping Lebanon amidst the instability of the Syria crisis. The Prime Minister announced that the UK is doubling its education support, to over $90 million over the next three years for the Lebanese government’s RACE programme (Reaching All Children with Education).

The Prime Minister visited a school in Beirut to mark the start of the government’s school enrolment process, which is aimed at reaching 200,000 Syrian refugee children. He heard from Minister of Education Elias Bou Saab about the free enrolment process designed to maximise the number of Syrian children in formal education this year, and to ensure there is no lost generation as a result of the Syrian war. The UK has also been providing textbooks for all Lebanese and refugee students for the past two years, and will continue to do so.

At UNHCR’s Informal Tented Settlements for Syrian refugees in the Bekaa, senior UNHCR officials briefed the Prime Minister on their work supporting Syrian refugee families in the Bekaa and across Lebanon. UK funding to meet the needs of Syrians in the region has now reached £1 billion, and much of this support is being spent in Lebanon. The Prime Minister spoke to some of the Syrian refugees who will be resettled in the UK.

The Prime Minister also met with Army Commander General Jean Kahwaji at Rayak military air base. He reiterated the UK’s firm commitment to Lebanon’s stability, in particular our partnership with the Lebanese Armed Forces through our ‘train and equip’ programme. The programme aims to minimise contagion from the Syrian conflict and combat the threat from ISIL at Lebanon’s borders. The Prime Minister announced that the UK would commit a further $7.5million to continue that support this year.