The caretaker Minister of Agriculture, Dr. Abbas al-Haj Hassan, confirmed that "the marketing of our agricultural products to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Gulf countries will soon return, but through our gateway to the brotherly Arab countries, Syria."
During a seminar on "The Role of Agriculture in Revitalizing the National Economy" organized by the "Bashar al-Assad Cultural Center" in Baalbek, attended by MP Ghazi Zaiter, former MP Kamal Al-Rifai, Baalbek’s Governor represented by the Secretary of the Municipality, Dree Sahlani, and Baalbek Mayor Fouad Ballouk, along with a crowd of farmers and interested parties, Al-Haj Hassan said: "The Cabinet recently formed a committee to develop a strategic plan and mechanism for wheat cultivation in Lebanon, including support and procurement. This committee held a meeting four days ago, chaired by Prime Minister Najib Mikati, with the participation of the relevant ministers. There was a commitment from Prime Minister Mikati and the Minister of Economy that the state will purchase durum wheat and barley from farmers at the global wheat price according to the current dollar rate, not based on the platform price, and payment will be made in a very short time, unlike what happened previously, which required up to six months."
He pointed out that "current preliminary estimates for wheat cultivation in Lebanon are 210,000 dunums, with 60% located in the Bekaa Valley. During my visit to France and the meeting with agricultural authorities, I received a promise to import high-quality, high-yielding soft wheat seeds."
He added: "We faced a significant problem in exporting and marketing agricultural products, especially to the Gulf countries, primarily the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. We want the best relations with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and God willing, these relations will return to their former state. Our agricultural products will return to the markets of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia; the Saudi brothers will undoubtedly return to Lebanon, and I start with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to say that our Arab gateway is Syria. Syria opens its agricultural doors to Lebanon across everything including transit, agriculture, and any other matter, but this requires communication from state to state. As a political party, we have no problem with our sister country Syria, but it requires dialogue between the two countries, Lebanon and Syria."
On the sidelines of the seminar, Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal Al-Miqdad sent a message of support and praise to Minister Al-Haj Hassan and the Bashar Al-Assad Cultural Center, which also received a message from the Lebanese presidential palace praising its activities.
