Saudi Arabia to consider resuming Lebanon imports, lifting travel ban | Politics News

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun visits Riyadh in his first journey overseas since taking workplace in January.

Saudi Arabia will evaluate “obstacles” to resuming Lebanese imports and ending a ban on its nationals visiting Lebanon, the 2 governments mentioned.

The announcement was made in a joint assertion launched after Lebanese President Joseph Aoun met Saudi Arabia’s de facto ruler Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) in Riyadh on Tuesday – Aoun’s first journey overseas since taking workplace in January.

Saudi Arabia has renewed its curiosity in Lebanese politics after an extended interval when it saved its distance within the wake of the affect of Iran-backed Hezbollah – now weakened after final 12 months’s struggle with Israel.

“The 2 sides agreed to start out finding out the obstacles dealing with the resumption of exports from the Lebanese Republic to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and the measures obligatory to permit Saudi residents to journey to” Lebanon, the assertion printed by the official Saudi Press Company mentioned.

In April 2021, the dominion suspended fruit and vegetable imports from Lebanon, charging that shipments had been getting used for drug smuggling and accusing Beirut of inaction.

Saudi Arabia was the highest vacation spot for Lebanese agricultural exports in 2019, taking 22.1 %, a Lebanese authorities report mentioned in 2020.

Since 2021, Saudis have additionally needed to get hold of their authorities’s permission earlier than travelling to Lebanon due to strained relations.

The 2 nations additionally agreed on “the need of the Israeli occupation military’s withdrawal” from Lebanese territory below a November ceasefire.

Final week, Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz mentioned troops would stay indefinitely in what he referred to as a “buffer zone” after the expiry of an prolonged, February 18 deadline for Israel to finish its withdrawal from Lebanon.

Aoun arrived in Saudi Arabia on Monday evening, marking the primary time in eight years {that a} Lebanese head of state had visited Riyadh.

On Friday, Aoun informed the Saudi Arabian newspaper Asharq al-Awsat that he would additionally “search, if potential, to reactivate army support” after Riyadh halted $3bn in army support to the Lebanese military in 2016, citing the affect of Hezbollah.