BEIRUT, Aug. 13 (Xinhua) -- Lebanon's Defense Minister Elias Bou Saab has announced a strategy aimed at funding the Lebanese army's needs with subsidized loans from Italy, France and other countries, the army's monthly magazine reported in its August's release.
"Several countries will offer subsidized loans for Lebanon to equip the Lebanese army and enable it to protect the economic zone while extracting oil and gas in this area," Bou Saab said.
Bou Saab noted that the visit of French Defense Minister Florence Parly earlier this month aimed at accelerating the process of these loans.
He added that these loans need to be approved by the cabinet and the parliament.
The United States is usually the biggest provider of military aid for Lebanon. The Lebanese army has received a total of 1.5 billion U.S. dollars in military aid from U.S. administrations since in 2006.
