Lebanese Finance Minister Yassine Jaber (on the left), alongside the Saudi ambassador to Beirut, Walid Boukhari (on the right), on May 27, 2025. (Credit: X account of the Saudi Embassy in Lebanon @KSAembassyLB)
Saudi Ambassador to Beirut Walid Bukhari was received Tuesday by Lebanese Finance Minister Yassine Jaber, with whom he discussed "reforms" in Lebanon and "ways to strengthen investments" between the two countries.
In a post on X, the Saudi embassy in Lebanon indicated that the two officials "discussed the latest developments in Lebanon and the region, the reform measures implemented by the Finance Ministry to revitalize the economy and stimulate growth, as well as ways to strengthen investments between the two brotherly countries in various sectors."
The relations between Lebanon and some countries in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) are gradually warming after years of diplomatic tensions, notably related to Hezbollah's influence in Lebanon. While the recent war between Israel and the party has particularly weakened the latter, the new tandem formed by President Joseph Aoun (elected Jan. 9, 2025) and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam (whose government was formed on Feb. 8) is working to repair ties with this country, especially with Saudi Arabia — once an important ally of Lebanon.
Saudi Arabia remains the only Gulf country to impose a travel ban on its nationals to Lebanon. The kingdom has issued various bans over the years, the latest dating back to 2021, following diplomatic tensions caused by televised remarks by former Lebanese Information Minister George Kordahi about Saudi Arabia's war in Yemen.
Aoun also made his first official foreign visit to the kingdom in early March, becoming the first Lebanese head of state to do so in over six years.
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