The Minister of Industry, Joe Issa al-Khoury, during his press conference on April 23, 2025. Photo provided by the Ministry of Industry.
Industry Minister Joe Issa al-Khoury held a news conference on April 23 and laid out a roadmap for five reform projects in his ministry.A former investment banker with roles at Merrill Lynch, the Saradar Group, and as an adviser to M1 Group — owned by former Prime Minister Najib Mikati and his brother Taha — Issa al-Khoury shared with L’Orient-Le Jour his vision for Lebanon’s industrial sector, still struggling amid an economic collapse that began in 2019 and a 13-month war between Hezbollah and Israel.L’Orient-Le Jour: On April 23, you painted a bleak picture: only 0.03 percent of the state budget had been allocated to the Industry Ministry over the past 20 years. What conclusion can we draw from this?Joe Issa al-Khoury: This shows that the industrial sector does not matter to postwar Lebanese leaders who see Lebanon as a country of...
Industry Minister Joe Issa al-Khoury held a news conference on April 23 and laid out a roadmap for five reform projects in his ministry.A former investment banker with roles at Merrill Lynch, the Saradar Group, and as an adviser to M1 Group — owned by former Prime Minister Najib Mikati and his brother Taha — Issa al-Khoury shared with L’Orient-Le Jour his vision for Lebanon’s industrial sector, still struggling amid an economic collapse that began in 2019 and a 13-month war between Hezbollah and Israel.L’Orient-Le Jour: On April 23, you painted a bleak picture: only 0.03 percent of the state budget had been allocated to the Industry Ministry over the past 20 years. What conclusion can we draw from this?Joe Issa al-Khoury: This shows that the industrial sector does not matter to postwar Lebanese leaders who see Lebanon as a...
