Lebanon and Saudi Arabia Launch Executive Track to Enhance Agricultural Cooperation and Trade Exchange

Following a recent phone conversation between Lebanese Minister of Agriculture Dr. Nizar Hani and Saudi Minister of Environment, Water and Agriculture Engineer Abdulrahman bin Abdulmohsen Al-Fadli, the first coordination meeting was held on Wednesday, 25 June 2026. The meeting took place via video conference between the Lebanese Ministry of Agriculture and the Saudi Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture. It was chaired by Lebanese Director General of Agriculture Engineer Louis Lahoud and Saudi Deputy Minister for Agriculture Professor Suleiman Al-Khatib.

Representing Lebanon, participants included Dr. Mohammad Abu Zeid, Director of Agricultural Wealth; Dr. Elias Ibrahim, Director of Animal Wealth; Engineer Rania Hayek, Head of the Import, Export and Agricultural Quarantine Department; Dr. Yahya Khattar, Head of the Import, Export and Veterinary Quarantine Department; and Engineer Mariam Eid, Head of the Food Industries Department.

The Saudi side was represented by Deputy Minister for Agriculture Professor Suleiman Al-Khatib, Assistant Deputy Minister for Agricultural Facilities and Supporting Services Engineer Mohammad Al-Abdullatif, and Director of Quarantine Engineer Abdullah Al-Muqayteeb.

The meeting commenced with welcoming remarks during which both sides emphasized the deep fraternal relations between the Lebanese Republic and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. They expressed a mutual desire to strengthen agricultural cooperation and develop partnerships between the specialized institutions in both countries to serve the interests of farmers and producers and contribute to enhancing food security and sustainable agricultural development.

The attendees discussed key priorities and work mechanisms for the upcoming phase, agreeing on several core areas, notably:

Preparing and defining a list of plant and animal products as well as agricultural and food industry products eligible for exchange between the two countries.

Reviewing and updating the health, quarantine, and regulatory standards adopted by both parties.

Exchanging the agricultural calendars used in Lebanon and Saudi Arabia.

Developing direct technical communication and coordination channels between the relevant departments.

Furthermore, an executive operational mechanism was agreed upon, including:

Assigning specialized technical teams in import, export, agricultural quarantine, and veterinary quarantine from both countries to hold specialized technical meetings at the earliest opportunity and prepare a joint report on the agreed topics, paving the way for approving an executive work plan at the next meeting.

Facilitating Lebanon’s participation in the Saudi Agricultural Exhibition scheduled for October 2026, while exploring the possibility of organizing a joint Lebanese-Saudi meeting on the sidelines of the exhibition involving representatives from the public and private sectors of both countries.

Including an agenda item to update the agricultural memorandum of understanding signed between the two countries at the next meeting to align with current developments and strengthen the frameworks for joint cooperation.

Forming a joint technical team from both sides to hold periodic meetings to follow up on files of mutual interest and propose initiatives aimed at enhancing agricultural partnership and expanding cooperation fields.

At the conclusion of the meeting, both sides reaffirmed the importance of building on the positive momentum in Lebanese-Saudi relations and continuing joint efforts to translate ministerial directives into practical steps that contribute to developing agricultural exchange and enhancing investment and technical cooperation opportunities between the two countries.

The participants agreed to hold the next coordination meeting on 7 July 2026 at 10:15 a.m. to review the outcomes of the technical meetings and follow up on the implementation of the agreed points.