Latest news with #RafikHaririInternationalAirport
Nahar Net
3 days ago
- Business
- Nahar Net
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.
Nahar Net
14-05-2025
- Politics
- Nahar Net
Fadlallah denies Hezbollah tried to smuggle gold through airport
by Naharnet Newsdesk 4 hours MP Hassan Fadlallah on Wednesday categorically denied that Hezbollah was behind an attempt to smuggle gold through the Rafik Hariri International Airport, urging authorities to reveal to public opinion all the details related to the allegations. 'I stress our keenness on the airport's security and on enforcing laws on everyone and providing a safe environment for this vital facility, and we have greatly contributed to assisting official security authorities to accomplish this mission,' Fadlallah added. The Wall Street Journal reported Saturday that Lebanon had recently foiled an alleged attempt to smuggle more than 50 pounds (around 23 kilograms) of gold to Hezbollah through the airport. 'Hezbollah is the party that works according to the constitution and laws and its competency, integrity and fight against corruption were acknowledged at a time the U.S. administration was protecting corrupts in Lebanon,' Fadlallah went on to say. Apparently hitting back at U.S. President Donald Trump, Fadlallah said 'what caused the tragedies of the Lebanese people is the Israeli entity, especially in its latest aggression against Lebanon.' Fadlallah also called on the Lebanese state to 'put the file of reconstruction on the agenda of the Arab Summit.'
Nahar Net
14-05-2025
- Politics
- Nahar Net
Fadlallah denies Hezbollah tried to smuggle gold through airport
by Naharnet Newsdesk 14 May 2025, 13:45 MP Hassan Fadlallah on Wednesday categorically denied that Hezbollah was behind an attempt to smuggle gold through the Rafik Hariri International Airport, urging authorities to reveal to public opinion all the details related to the allegations. 'I stress our keenness on the airport's security and on enforcing laws on everyone and providing a safe environment for this vital facility, and we have greatly contributed to assisting official security authorities to accomplish this mission,' Fadlallah added. The Wall Street Journal reported Saturday that Lebanon had recently foiled an alleged attempt to smuggle more than 50 pounds (around 23 kilograms) of gold to Hezbollah through the airport. 'Hezbollah is the party that works according to the constitution and laws and its competency, integrity and fight against corruption were acknowledged at a time the U.S. administration was protecting corrupts in Lebanon,' Fadlallah went on to say. Apparently hitting back at U.S. President Donald Trump, Fadlallah said 'what caused the tragedies of the Lebanese people is the Israeli entity, especially in its latest aggression against Lebanon.' Fadlallah also called on the Lebanese state to 'put the file of reconstruction on the agenda of the Arab Summit.'
L'Orient-Le Jour
09-05-2025
- Business
- L'Orient-Le Jour
‘Up to $6,000 in daily expenses': Tourism sector counting on Gulf nationals this summer
"I visited Lebanon a very long time ago! I am happy to be among the first to finally return," exclaimed an Emirati at the microphone for An-Nahar upon arriving at the Rafik Hariri International Airport (RHIA) on with flowers and pastries, as well as by the media and Lebanese Information Minister Paul Morcos, travelers took part in the first three flights to Beirut from Emirates since the lifting on May 1 of the travel ban to Lebanon imposed in 2021 by Abu Dhabi on its nationals, the result of President Joseph Aoun's official visit to the United Arab Emirates on April 30. Read more Lebanon's minimum wage to be potentially raised to LL28 million in first phase Before summer, the return of Emiratis could precede other Gulf nationals, including Saudis, leaving tourism professionals hopeful for a...
L'Orient-Le Jour
05-05-2025
- Business
- L'Orient-Le Jour
Jaber heads to Baghdad to boost Lebanon-Iraq coordination
BEIRUT — Finance Minister, Yassin Jaber, left for Baghdad on Monday to hold meetings with a number of senior Iraqi officials to enhance the coordination between Lebanon and Iraq, especially on the issue of supplying Lebanon with fuel for the electricity sector, as well as to discuss issues related to telecommunications and the oil supply pipeline, the Ministry of Finance stated. Jaber held a meeting with Energy Minister Joe Saddi on Friday to discuss this trip, in which Saddi was also supposed to take part. Upon his departure from the Rafik Hariri International Airport, Jaber said: "The visit to Iraq has several objectives, in addition to thanking Iraq for the great support it has provided to Lebanon over the past years, especially during the war, such as providing fuel for electricity, it has recently started providing shipments of wheat and continues to offer other forms of social aid." On Monday, President Joseph Aoun met with the Secretary-General of the Iraqi National Project, Sheikh Jamal al-Dhari, according to the Lebanese Presidency. Following the meeting, al-Dhari said that they discussed "strengthening and developing Lebanese-Iraqi relations at various levels. He added that he appreciated Aoun's "position with regard to limiting weapons to the state, as the state can only be built on a unified political and security decision." Hezbollah and Israel were engaged in a conflict that began in October 2023 and escalated in September 2024 before a cease-fire was reached in November 2024. "We will also discuss topics of interest to both countries, such as electricity, telecommunications, the fiber optic network which could extend from Lebanon to Europe, the oil pipeline, and settling Lebanon's outstanding dues", he added. In June 2024, Lebanon's former energy minister, Walid Fayyad, indicated that a meeting had been held between former Prime Minister Najib Mikati and the Iraqi Investment Authority to discuss the relaunch of a pipeline project linking the two countries with the aim of sending Iraqi oil to European markets. At the end of March Iraqi Prime Minister Mohamad Chia al-Soudani announced that his country will supply fuel to Lebanon for a period of six months. A fuel supply contract had been concluded between Lebanon and Iraq as part of the agreement signed in the summer of 2021, which has been renewed since then. This agreement stipulates that Iraq, through SOMO (the public agency responsible for marketing Iraqi oil), will provide a monthly shipment of crude oil to a third-party company, which, in return, delivers an amount of fuel compatible with Lebanon's Electricité du Liban (EDL) power plants, with the value equivalent to the crude oil received. On Feb. 12, Joe Saddi, the Minister of Energy and Water in the government of Nawaf Salam, signed the renewal of this agreement. The new extension, which took effect on March 1, involves a quantity ranging from 1.5 to 2 million tons over a year, which is 500,000 tons more than the amount specified in the previous contract. Recently, EDL had rationed its supply due to a delay in the delivery of the last fuel shipment expected under the barter agreement between Iraq and Lebanon. Lebanon's electricity sector is hindered by structural gaps and insufficient capacity to meet the country's needs, which relies on private generator owners for additional power supply.
