The management of the Chamber of Commerce, Industry, and Agriculture in Tripoli and the North confirmed its commitment to continuing services despite the general lockdown.
According to a statement from the chamber reported by the National News Agency, it emphasized that it continues to provide services despite the lockdown, noting that it operates with a minimum number of employees to complete citizen transactions, whether through its international laboratories that ensure food safety, or in terms of certifying invoices from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to facilitate import and export processes.
Tawfiq Dabousi, the head of the chamber, stated that the chamber operates as a team, highlighting the importance of being consistently available to provide essential services, both in management and in laboratories. He stressed that without the laboratories in the Chamber of Tripoli, which serve all of Lebanon, there would be no imports, exports, or food safety, praising the internal administrative work, without which transactions would not be certified. He explained that goods arriving at border crossing points cannot enter the country without undergoing laboratory tests; entering without these tests may render them non-compliant with specifications, thereby compromising food safety.
Dabousi affirmed that the role of the Chamber of Tripoli and the North is not just a local one, but rather a pivotal role at the national, regional, and international levels, as goods are exported to all parts of the world, and imports come from all over the globe. Consequently, the entity capable of guaranteeing the scientific and health standards for all goods is the advanced laboratories within the Chamber of Tripoli and the North.
In a related context, a correspondent from the National News Agency in Tripoli reported that a number of protesters blocked both directions of the Tripoli-Beirut highway at the Palma Bridge with stones and barriers, which prompted security forces to redirect traffic to the coastal road. Others also blocked the Abd al-Hamid Karami Roundabout in protest against the general lockdown and rising prices, affirming that they would escalate their actions if the lockdown continued to prevent them from securing their daily sustenance.
