Industry minister tells UN conference Lebanon is open for industrial investments

BEIRUT — Industry Minister Joe Issa al-Khoury called all United Nations member states to consider Lebanon for industrial investments during the 21st General Conference of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) in Riyadh on Monday, according to the transcript of his speech provided by the ministry.

"Lebanon's strategic position enables the development of nearshoring and offshoring," Khoury told attendees, adding that Lebanon "boasts creative talent with a high level of education, a multilingual workforce, and an innovative society."

Nearshoring and offshoring refer to relocating certain industrial or service activities to nearby or distant countries, respectively, in order to reduce costs and improve efficiency.

He also praised the "flexibility of the Lebanese private sector, which is ready to form investment partnerships," and stated that "Lebanon is open to new technologies such as artificial intelligence and robotics manufacturing."

He promoted the national strategy launched by his ministry two weeks earlier, which he described as a "comprehensive roadmap aimed at restructuring the industrial sector, transforming it into a driver of growth and stability, and supporting the recovery of the Lebanese economy."

His plan includes the "modernization of infrastructure" and the "development of a competitive and attractive business environment for investment."

During his visit to Riyadh, which is scheduled to end Tuesday, the minister also met with his Saudi counterpart Bandar bin Ibrahim al-Khorayef, his Moroccan counterpart Ryad Mezzour, the chairman of the Riyadh Chamber of Commerce, Abdullah bin Abdulrahman al-Obaikan, as well as the director general of UNIDO, Gerd Müller, according to several statements reported by the state-run National News Agency.