The Minister for Defence Mr Smith is on his way to Lebanon to join Irish soldiers for what should be the last Irish St Patrick’s Day celebrations there.
Mr Smith, with the secretary general of the Department of Defence Mr David O’Callaghan and the Chief of Staff of the Defence Forces Lt Gen Colm Mangan, are expected to arrive in Beirut today.
The Minister is to meet his Lebanese counterpart, Mr Khalid Hrawi and the Force Commander of UNIFIL Maj Gen Seth Kofi Obeng during his four-day stay.
On Wednesday and Thursday Mr Smith is set to travel to different operation posts to visit Irish soldiers serving with the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL).
The visit will end with Thursday’s Medal Parade at Camp Shamrock, the headquarters of the Irish Battalion in Tibnin in south Lebanon.
The annual event will be larger than usual this year given it is to be the last celebrated by Irish soldiers on Lebanese soil, a spokesman for the Minister said. The Minister is to present each soldier with a medal for serving with UNIFIL.
Mr Smith will fly on to the Czech Republic for St Patrick’s Day.
Currently 608 of the 869 Irish military personnel serving overseas are posted in Lebanon as part of UNIFIL. The Irish forces are due to withdraw from Lebanon in November.