A delegation from the British Embassy visited the headquarters of La Regie Libanaise Des Tabacs et Tombacs (Regie) in Hadath where it was received by the Director General of Regie, Engineer Nassif Seklaoui who discussed it a variety of topics related to means of combatting illegal trade, namely the illicit trade of tobacco products.
The delegation included the Chief of the International Trade Department at the Embassy and two officers who work on financial crimes.
During the meeting, members of the delegation shared their experiences from different European countries namely Britain. Meanwhile, Eng. Seklaoui provided a presentation on the work of Regie in terms of combatting smuggling and the means adopted by Regie including the recommendations of the First National Conference Against Illicit Trade that was held last year.
Eng. Seklaoui also shed light on the specificity of the Lebanese experience in the absence of effective control over the legal and illegal crossings as well as the presence of camps outside the official authority of the Lebanese state.
By the end of the meeting, the British delegation offered an honorary shield to Eng. Seklaoui and mentioned that an agreement was made for the purpose of sharing information and recent updates in terms of combatting the illicit trade and the methods adopted of that purpose.