Industry Minister Launches Digital Licensing Platform with Canadian and UN Support

Minister of Industry Joe Issa El-Khoury launched the Ministry of Industry's electronic services platform for industrial licenses and certificates, in close cooperation with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and with generous funding from the Government of Canada, during activities accompanying the Second Lebanese Industrial Exhibition at SEASIDE ARENA.

Attended by Canadian Ambassador to Lebanon Gregory Galligan, Acting Resident Representative of the UNDP Thair Shreidi, Head of Cooperation Section at the European Union Delegation in Lebanon Alessandra Visi, Director General of Industry Adel Al-Shabab, President of the Association of Industrialists Salim Zayni, staff of the Ministry of Industry, industrialists, experts, and interested parties.

This project aims to transform transactions previously performed manually and on paper by ministry employees through direct interaction with stakeholders into electronic procedures that accelerate completion, reduce time and cost for citizens, and allow them to track the status of their applications electronically. The platform also includes an electronic guide to determine the category of industrial activity and services provided electronically.

Driving the digital transformation of public services in the industrial sector comes within the framework of ongoing efforts to enhance the business environment in Lebanon, support the recovery of productive sectors, and increase their competitiveness. Minister El-Khoury’s commitment, in collaboration with the UNDP, stems from ensuring the public sector provides modern, efficient, and fast services to the private sector.

El-Khoury delivered a speech emphasizing that this step is not merely the launch of a digital platform but the establishment of a new approach to how the Ministry serves industrialists. He noted that Lebanese industrialists face enormous challenges; despite these obstacles, they continue to produce, invest, innovate, create jobs, and export Lebanese products worldwide. Therefore, he stressed that "our responsibility as a government is to facilitate their work, not to complicate it further."

He continued: "We want industrialists to spend their time in their factories, developing their products and expanding their businesses, not in the corridors of the Ministry chasing paperwork and signatures. Through this platform, industrialists will be able to submit their requests electronically, track their progress, and benefit from simpler, faster, and clearer administrative procedures, within specific and predictable deadlines for transaction completion. However, digital transformation is not limited to improving efficiency and speeding up procedures; it also includes enhancing transparency and accountability and consolidating the principles of good governance."

He emphasized his pursuit of transitioning from person-dependent management to management operating under clear rules, unified procedures, and measurable performance standards, ensuring every step is traceable, every delay is identifiable, and all applicants are treated according to the same rules.

He added: "How can we ask our industrialists to keep pace with the Fourth Industrial Revolution, Industry 4.0, while the Ministry itself still operates with the mindset of the First Industrial Revolution, Industry 1.0? Hence, updating public administration forms an essential part of modernizing our industrial sector."

El-Khoury thanked the team at the Ministry of Industry and all those who contributed to the development and successful launch of this platform. He concluded by saying: "Together, we prove that real administrative reform in Lebanon is possible and achievable. The role of the state is to create conditions that enable the private sector to succeed."

In turn, Galligan expressed pride in Canada's support for the Ministry of Industry and Minister Joe Issa El-Khoury in leading the digital transformation of industrial services, in partnership with the UNDP. He stated that companies need systems that help them succeed, and the launch of this platform today represents an important step in this direction.

Shreidi delivered a speech highlighting the importance of launching this platform, which also serves as a starting point, saying: "Our ambition should be to make efficient, transparent, and accessible public services the norm in all administrations and institutions in Lebanon, not the exception."