Saudi Arabia lifts ban on travel to Lebanon

Prime Minister of Lebanon, Saad Hariri (R) meets Saudi King’s envoy Nizar bin Suleiman al-Aloula (C) in Beirut, Lebanon on 13 February 2019. [LEBANESE PRIME MINISTRY OFFICE / HANDOUT – Anadolu Agency]

Riyadh has lifted a year-old ban on travel to Lebanon by Saudi nationals, the kingdom’s ambassador to Beirut announced Wednesday, Anadolu Agency reports.

At a press conference, Ambassador Walid Bukhari attributed the decision to lift the ban to what he described as improved security conditions in Lebanon.

Bukhari spoke to reporters after a closed-door meeting with Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri and Nizar bin Sulaiman al-Alula, a Saudi royal envoy currently visiting Beirut.

The Saudi ban on travel to Lebanon was first imposed in late 2017 after Hariri, during a tense visit to Riyadh, abruptly announced his resignation from the premiership — a move he reversed two weeks later upon his return to Lebanon.

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