BEIRUT — President Joseph Aoun called on the Lebanese diaspora, which is nearly three times the size of Lebanon's own population, to "invest or settle" in their motherland, calling Lebanese abroad a "true asset of Lebanon," during a meeting at the Baabda Presidential Palace on Wednesday with officials from the Australian company Vitex Pharmaceuticals, whose director and founder, Elias Chami, is of Lebanese origin.

"Lebanon needs you," Aoun said. "Whenever I meet Lebanese from the diaspora, I sense their deep attachment to their roots and their strong desire to help their country of origin." Lebanon has experienced several waves of emigration, either for economic reasons or to escape the violence of war.

The Lebanese government estimates that about 15 million people of Lebanese descent live outside of the country, which has a population of 5.7 million. The largest diaspora is in Brazil, with significant numbers also in the U.S., Australia, Canada, Argentina, the U.K. and Germany. Lebanon receives billions in remittances — funds sent by the diaspora — every year: $5.8 billion in 2024, $6.7 billion in 2023, and $6.43 billion in 2022, according to World Bank estimates.

"Lebanese in Australia, in particular, have greatly contributed to the development of relations between the two countries," Aoun said during the meeting. "They are actively involved in the structure of Australian society and its institutions, and are highly regarded by this society and its leaders."

"It is the duty of the Lebanese state today to ensure political, security, and economic stability in order to encourage [the diaspora] to invest in or settle in Lebanon," Aoun said. Elected in January 2024, Aoun, along with his government, is tasked with reviving a country entrenched in a nearly six-year-long economic and financial crisis and emerging from a war of more than thirteen months, during which Israel killed over 4,000 people and destroyed large swaths of the country's east and south.

According to a report from the state-run National News Agency, the Australian delegation expressed to Aoun their desire to explore opportunities for cooperation with Lebanese businessmen in support of the country's economy and to provide job opportunities for young Lebanese.

Vitex Pharmaceuticals's director, Elias Chami, said he wants to "share the success of his company with the people and leaders of Lebanon," and believes that "the success of any member of the Lebanese diaspora is a success for all of us [Lebanese].'