Lebanese Republic 
Salam met the Minister of Commerce of Saudi Arabia
the Kingdom is exerting all its efforts to help Lebanon… We have faith that this cloud will soon dissipate for good
Minister of Commerce of Saudi Arabia, Dr. Majid Bin Abdallah Al Qasabi, welcomed the Minister of Economy and Trade Mr. Amin Salam and held together an extended meeting to discuss on bilateral relations, namely in the field of trade and investment.
This meeting is the first to be held after a long trade embargo imposed by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and remaining Gulf Cooperation Council’ countries in terms of trade exchange with Lebanon, not to mention the huge losses that Lebanon’ economy had incurred due this decision. Minister Salam stated that they discussed the issue of reactivating the trade activity between KSA and Lebanon, especially in terms of import and export, in a bilateral initiative that is not only confined to restoring trade exchange but also aspiring to strengthen and develop it as well as to expanding to new sectors that keep pace with economic developments in different fields, mainly technology, downstream and food industries as well as to pharmaceutical industry within the initiative of the Ministry of Economy and Trade entitled “the new identity of the national economy – innovation and knowledge based economy” which will constitutes a paradigm shift for the economy, trade and investment.
Furthermore, Salam added: after series of meetings with the concerned ministers, I can affirm that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia will do its best to help Lebanon; provided that the latter will honor its promise in terms of exerting its efforts to reduce drug smuggling to the Kingdom; to implement the necessary reforms and to boost confidence in the economy. We also agreed to open direct communication channels with concerned authorities to quickly achieve this issue; adding “following series of positive meetings with all the Gulf Cooperation Council’ countries, I will submit, next Monday, a letter that documents obstacles faced by lebanese exports and imports to help them make their things easier. We all have faith that this cloud will soon dissipate for good.
In addition, Minister Salam emphasized during the meeting that the next phase of our Arab world will have as a title “zero conflicts and a development and economic revolution” to strengthen the concept of Arab integrity between Arab countries and to open toward regional and international markets; indicating that “our beautiful and resistant Lebanon have a great and rare opportunity that does not consist in being Paris or Switzerland of the Middle East, but to be considered the land of cedars, springs and four seasons”.
In his turn, Minister of Commerce of Saudi Arabia, Dr. Majid Bin Abdallah Al Qasabi welcomed the proposals of Minister Salam and the positivity that he spread to the Kingdom’ officials, believing that “what connect the two countries from history and relationship that we will not simply content to restore them like old days but we will greater prosperity and closer cooperation”.
