UAE delegation inspects Beirut's port and airport
by Naharnet Newsdesk 28 May 2025, 11:49
An Emirati official said Wednesday that 'UAE's president is keen on granting Lebanon everything it wishes for,' during a visit by a UAE delegation to the Port of Beirut.
'The Lebanese citizen wants Lebanon to return to its strategic role and the president of the UAE is keen on granting Lebanon everything it wishes for,' the head of the delegation, Assistant Minister of Cabinet Affairs for Competitiveness and Knowledge Exchange Abdullah Nasser Lootah, said.
The delegation also visited the Rafik Hariri International Airport and was accompanied by Public Works and Transport Minister Fayez Rasamny on both visits.
The United Arab Emirates had in early May lifted a ban on its citizens traveling to Lebanon that was imposed during a diplomatic row in 2021.
The decision was announced a day after President Joseph Aoun met with his UAE counterpart Mohamed bin Zayed in Abu Dhabi.
"The two sides agreed to allow citizens to travel after taking necessary measures to facilitate movement between the two countries and putting in place appropriate mechanisms," a statement said.
In 2021, the UAE imposed a travel ban on its citizens and withdrew diplomats from Beirut in solidarity with Saudi Arabia after a Lebanese minister criticized the Riyadh-led military intervention in Yemen.
Lebanese citizens were not banned from traveling to the UAE, although some experienced difficulties obtaining visas.
The Abu Dhabi Fund for Development, which supports infrastructure projects in developing countries, will send a delegation to Lebanon to study potential joint projects, the statement said.
Ties between Beirut and Abu Dhabi soured in the past decade over Hezbollah's influence on Lebanon.
But with the group weakened by its recent war with Israel, the UAE is the latest Gulf country to renew its interest in Lebanon.
In March, Saudi Arabia said it would review "obstacles" to resuming Lebanese imports and ending a ban on its nationals visiting Lebanon.
That announcement came after Aoun met Saudi Arabia's de facto ruler Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Riyadh on his first trip abroad since taking office in January.
Aoun, the preferred candidate of both Riyadh and Washington, was elected after the weakening of Hezbollah and the overthrow of the group's ally Bashar al-Assad in Syria shifted the balance of power in Lebanon.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Al Manar
4 hours ago
- Al Manar
Hezbollah MP Slams Lebanese Ministers: Implementation of Gov't Obligations Can't Be Selective
Member of Hezbollah's Loyalty to Resistance MP Hasan Fadlallah slammed some ministers in the Lebanese government, noting that their remarks contradict with the ministerial statement. In an address during a local ceremony in the southern town of Zawtar Al-Sharqiya, MP Fadlallah said 'some positions we hear from members of the government aimed at evading the responsibilities they have committed to before the Lebanese people.' In this context, MP Fadlallah stressed that such responsibilities 'are the commitments on the basis of which the Lebanese government won the Parliament's confidence. 'Some of the government's members act as if the implementation of these obligations is a selective process based on what they desire, or on what is imposed on them by foreign powers' external dictates.' He explained that the ministerial statement stipulated that the Government is committed to reconstruction, defending the border and its people as well as taking all measures in order to liberate the land. 'Has the government implemented its commitments regarding reconstruction and the other two issues?' MP Fadlallah wondered. The Hezbollah lawmaker, meanwhile, called on these ministers to 'implement their commitments first.' 'We have nothing more to give, to anyone, in any way, whether in South Lebanon, or in any region. We have fulfilled our obligations at all levels.' 'The current government is obligated, according to the Constitution and legal text, to implement the provisions of the ministerial statement. We have nothing else to say. When they implement these provisions, we will talk about other matters.' Fadlallah remarks come as the Israeli enemy goes ahead with attacks on Lebanon, in violation of the ceasefire that ended the 66-day Israeli war. A Lebanese citizen was martyred at dawn on Saturday in an Israeli drone strike on his vehicle in the southern town of Deir Al-Zahrani.
Nahar Net
4 hours ago
- Nahar Net
Israeli strike in Deir al-Zahrani kills 'Hezbollah rocket commander'
by Naharnet Newsdesk 6 hours Lebanese official media said an Israeli strike killed one person in the south on Saturday despite a six-month-old ceasefire, as Israel said it targeted a Hezbollah militant. The state-run National News Agency (NNA) said a man was killed when an Israeli drone targeted his car as he was heading to pray at a mosque in Deir al-Zahrani, about 20 kilometers (12 miles) from the Israeli border. Israel has continued to bomb Lebanon despite the November 27 truce that sought to halt more than a year of hostilities with Hezbollah, including two months of open war. The Israeli army said the strike killed a regional commander "of Hezbollah's rocket array." It charged that during the conflict, the operative "advanced numerous projectile attacks... and was involved recently in efforts to reestablish Hezbollah's terrorist infrastructure" in south Lebanon. Under the terms of the ceasefire, Hezbollah fighters were to pull back north of the Litani River, some 30 kilometers (20 miles) from the border, and dismantle military infrastructure to its south. Israel was to withdraw all forces from Lebanon but it has kept troops in five areas it deems "strategic". The Lebanese Army has deployed in the south and has been dismantling Hezbollah infrastructure.
LBCI
5 hours ago
- LBCI
Israeli army claims killing Hezbollah rocket unit commander in Deir al-Zahrani strike
The Israeli military announced on Saturday that it carried out an airstrike in the town of Deir al-Zahrani in South Lebanon, claiming to have killed Mohammad Ali Jammoul, identified as the commander of Hezbollah's rocket unit in the Shaqif sector.
