UAE delegation in Lebanon to reopen embassy

A high-level delegation from the United Arab Emirates is in Beirut to undertake all necessary arrangements to reopen the UAE Embassy in Lebanon, the state news agency of the oil-rich nation said.

Monday’s move came days after Lebanon’s army commander, Gen. Joseph Aoun, was elected president ending a 26-month vacuum in the country’s top job.

The UAE withdrew its diplomats from Lebanon in October 2021 in protest to comments by a Lebanese Cabinet minister about the war in Yemen.

Aoun spoke by telephone with the president of the UAE over the weekend who told him the embassy will resume work in Beirut, according to Aoun’s office. His election is likely to improve Lebanon’s cold relations with oil-rich gulf Arab nations. Ties have been tense for years because of Iran’s influence in the small Mediterranean nation.