United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon at the weekend thanked Italian troops for their work as part of the UN peacekeeping force in Lebanon.
''I have been able to witness in person the excellent work being done to help peace in this country,'' said Ban, visiting a UN base in Lebanon near the border with Israel.
Italy is the biggest contributor of troops to UN peacekeeping operations in Lebanon, supplying 2,100 soldiers.
An Italian general has led the 13,000-strong multinational force for the last year.
