![A plane taking off from the Beirut Rafic Hariri International Airport after flights were suspended due to the tension between Hezbollah and Israel this morning in Beirut, Lebanon on August 25, 2024. [Houssam Shbaro - Anadolu Agency]](https://i0.wp.com/www.middleeastmonitor.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/AA-20240825-35481404-35481403-FLIGHTS_SUSPENDED_IN_THE_BEIRUT_RAFIC_HARIRI_INTERNATIONAL_AIRPORT.jpg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1)
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has lifted a years-long travel ban on Lebanon, amid a warming of relations between Abu Dhabi and Beirut.
In a statement released on Sunday, the UAE’s Foreign Ministry announced that Emirati citizens will be allowed to travel to Lebanon from 7 May, following a four-year travel ban that was imposed in 2021 due to regional instability and security concerns.
The ministry stated that the decision is a step toward strengthening “brotherly relations” with Lebanon, particularly following on from a “working visit” by the Lebanese President Joseph Aoun to Abu Dhabi, in which he met with his Emirati counterpart Sheikh Mohamed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan.
During that meeting, the two leaders reportedly agreed to facilitate travel between their countries through the implementation of required procedures and mechanisms, including the UAE Foreign Ministry’s insistence that Emirati citizens aiming to travel to Lebanon are obligated to register with an emergency contact system.
The UAE’s move to lift the travel ban was welcomed by Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, who called it “a clear sign of the deep fraternal ties between the two countries.”
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