Lebanon’s caretaker Interior Minister Mohammed Fahmi has thanked Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, and Interior Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Saud for allowing Lebanese products stranded on the border with Saudi Arabia and in Jeddah port to enter the Kingdom.
Saudi Arabia announced last Friday a ban on imports of fruits and vegetables from Lebanon, citing an increase in drug smuggling.
Mohamed Choucair, President of the Federation of Chambers of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture in Lebanon wrote on his Twitter account, “Many thanks for the Saudi leadership for allowing the stranded Lebanese products to enter the Kingdom. This is very good news that reassures farmers on their livelihoods and it expresses the humanitarian and generous role that Saudi Arabia has towards Lebanon and the Lebanese.”
On Thursday, Fahmi paid a surprise inspection visit to the cargo zone at the Rafik Hariri International Airport.
LBCI television showed Fahmi while inspecting scanner devices and asking whether those machines are able to detect the smuggling of contraband, such as Captagon.
Meanwhile, caretaker Agriculture Minister Abbas Mortada said that during a meeting held at the Presidential Palace this week to discuss the Saudi decision, officials stressed the need to install scanners, which are essential to detect the hundreds of shipments from and to Lebanon.
In a radio interview, Mortada said that “22 percent of our total exports head to Saudi Arabia,” adding that “today, 60 percent of our fruit and vegetable exports are at risk following the Saudi ban.”
