Saudi Arabia on Wednesday announced that it lifted a five-year-old ban on imported goods from Lebanon, marking a major attempt to rebuild ties between Beirut and the Gulf nations.
Saudi Arabia had imposed a ban on fruits and vegetables from Lebanon in 2021, alleging they were being used to smuggle drugs. Riyadh had once announced it seized over five million pills of the amphetamine drug Captagon hidden in a shipment of pomegranates from Lebanon.
The country later extended its ban to all Lebanese products after Lebanon’s then-Information Minister, George Kordahi, condemned Riyadh’s war in Yemen against the Houthis.
Saudi Arabia’s regional rivalry with Iran and its disapproval of the influence of the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah in Lebanon further isolated Beirut from its Gulf neighbours. Riyadh had initially imposed the ban at a time when Beirut’s economy was suffering from a major financial crisis and the collapse of its currency.
The Kingdom’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Wednesday that the reversal of the ban at the order of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman was a result of “positive steps taken by the Lebanese state”.
The Lebanese government had announced plans over the past year to disarm all non-state groups, including Hezbollah, and had already made progress on implementing the plan in southern Lebanon before the latest Israel-Hezbollah war began in March.
Lebanese President Joseph Auon thanked Prince Mohammed in a statement, saying that the decision “will contribute tangibly to reviving the national economy and providing support to broad segments of Lebanese producers and exporters”.
The current Lebanese government, which came to power last year with promises of reform, had initiated efforts to rebuild ties with the Gulf nations. Before the outbreak of the current war, Lebanese officials were encouraging Gulf tourists to return to the country in order to revive the economy. Some Gulf nations had also lifted travel bans, which prevented its citizens from visiting Lebanon.
