Saudi Arabia ends 5-year ban on Lebanese imports

Saudi Arabia announced on Wednesday the end of a ban on Lebanese imports that had been in place for five years, marking a significant step in efforts to rebuild relations between Lebanon and Gulf states.

The kingdom imposed a ban on Lebanese fruit and vegetable imports in 2021, saying they were being used to smuggle drugs. In one high-profile case, Saudi authorities said they had seized more than five million Captagon pills hidden inside a shipment of pomegranates arriving from Lebanon.

Months later, Saudi Arabia expanded the ban to cover all Lebanese products after Lebanon’s then Information Minister, George Kordahi, publicly criticised the Saudi-led war against the Houthis in Yemen.

The ban was imposed at a time when Lebanon’s economy was already suffering from a severe financial crisis and a collapse in the value of its national currency.

In a statement on Wednesday, the Saudi Foreign Ministry said the decision to lift the ban was made by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in light of the “positive steps taken by the Lebanese state”.

READ: Kuwait in talks with Saudi Arabia and UAE on alternative oil export routes