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Saudi Arabia has lifted a roughly five-year ban on imports from Lebanon in a show of support for Beirut's embattled government that may also offer relief to businesses battered by years of conflict between Iran-backed Hezbollah and Israel, Reuters reported.
Reuters cited Saudi state media as saying that Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman ordered on Wednesday the resumption of Lebanese exports to the kingdom in light of what he called "positive steps" taken by the Lebanese government toward rebuilding state institutions.
According to the report, the decision came at the request of Lebanese President Joseph Aoun and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, both of whom took office in January 2025 with Saudi backing but have struggled to assert state control amid ongoing fighting between Hezbollah and Israel.
Both leaders quickly issued statements thanking the crown prince, with Aoun saying the move "will contribute significantly to the revival of the national economy and support a wide range of Lebanese producers and exporters."
The 2021 ban - initially on imports of agricultural products but then extended to all goods - was linked to smuggling of the methamphetamine-like drug Captagon, produced in Lebanon and Syria and stashed in shipments of food, furniture and other products, according to Reuters.
That put further pressure on Lebanon's crumbling economy, already crushed by a 2019 financial crisis, with agricultural exports in particular stranded from traditional Gulf Arab markets. Lebanese exports to Saudi Arabia were worth about $240 million in 2020.
Western and Arab states have long said former Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad's government and Hezbollah were behind the illicit production and trade in the drug.
Hezbollah has denied involvement. Assad's government collapsed under a rebel offensive in December 2024, after which huge drug factories were found in government-held areas of Syria and the border region where Hezbollah had a strong presence.
Ties between Riyadh and Beirut have been strained for years due to the power of Iran-backed Hezbollah over Lebanese affairs.