After years of restrictions, Saudi Arabia has reopened its market to imports from Lebanon, lifting a five-year ban imposed on the Mediterranean country.
According to the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) on Wednesday evening, Riyadh justified the move by citing the encouraging measures taken by the Lebanese government to strengthen state institutions.
The import ban severed access to one of Lebanon’s most important export markets and put particular pressure on the Lebanese agricultural sector.
“This is a real turning point,” Ibrahim Tarshishi, chairman of the farmers’ association in Lebanon’s eastern Bekaa Valley, told dpa.
He said the focus would now be on creating the practical conditions for resuming exports and resolving outstanding issues such as transit visas for lorry drivers. “We have waited five years for such a decision,” he added.
Saudi Arabia halted imports of fruits and vegetables from Lebanon in 2021. The kingdom’s authorities justified the move at the time by citing an increase in attempts to smuggle drugs – allegedly by the Hezbollah militia -into the country via agricultural shipments.
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun welcomed the decision, describing it as an expression of Saudi support for Lebanon, intended to strengthen the economy and further solidify relations between the two countries.
In the wake of the war between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah, the government in Beirut aims to curb Iranian influence in the country. Observers see Saudi Arabia’s decision as an important step in supporting the Lebanese government.
