Saudi Arabia is giving the Lebanese army $3 billion (€2.18 billion) in aid, Lebanon’s President Michel Suleiman said yesterday, calling it the largest grant ever to the country’s armed forces.

Some of the money was likely to be spent on weapons from France, Suleiman indicated in a televised address.

One of the few institutions not overtaken by the sectarian divisions that plague the country, Lebanon’s army is ill-equipped to deal with internal militant groups, particularly the Shi’ite Muslim guerrilla and political movement Hizbollah.

The Sunni Muslim kingdom of Saudi Arabia may be seeking to bolster the army as a counterbalance to Hizbollah, seen as the most effective and powerful armed group in Lebanon and funded by the regional Shi’ite power Iran.

“The King of the brotherly Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is offering this generous and appreciated aid of $3 billion to the Lebanese army to strengthen its capabilities,” Suleiman said.

French President Francois Hollande, currently on a visit to Saudi Arabia where he met King Abdullah, said France would supply weapons to the Lebanese army if it was asked to do so.