Farmers plow fields in the Bekaa Valley, an agriculture hub of Lebanon. (Credit: João Sousa/L’Orient Today)
BEIRUT — Lebanon said on Monday it hoped Saudi Arabia would reconsider a ban on its produce that was imposed over what Riyadh called a rise in drug smuggling, and tasked its caretaker interior minister to coordinate with the kingdom to uncover the culprits and prevent a repeat.
The government also asked Lebanon’s public prosecutor to pursue investigations on the issue and keep Saudi officials informed of results, a statement from the presidency said.
The statement was issued after a meeting on the topic between President Michel Aoun and caretaker Prime Minister Hassan Diab, among others.
Blaming an increase in drug smuggling, Saudi Arabia announced the ban on Friday, a measure that will add to Lebanon’s severe economic problems. The fruit and vegetables trade is worth $24 million annually.
Lebanon is in the throes of a deep financial crisis posing the biggest threat to its stability since the 1975–90 civil war.
Aoun earlier asked Lebanon’s security forces to step up operations against the smuggling, while Diab said Lebanon stood ready to fight trafficking networks with Saudi Arabia but that a ban would not prevent it.