UAE delegation inspects Beirut's port and airport

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.