Saudi Foreign Minister to Visit Lebanon for First Time in Over a Decade

TDT | Davos, Switzerland

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Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan announced on Tuesday that he will visit Lebanon later this week, marking the first such trip by a Saudi foreign minister in more than ten years. The announcement was made during a panel discussion on diplomacy at the World Economic Forum's annual meeting in the Swiss resort town of Davos.

The one-day visit, scheduled for Thursday, will be the first official visit by a high-ranking Saudi official to Lebanon since 2015. This comes after years of strained relations between the two countries, largely due to Lebanon's perceived alignment with Iran, its involvement in drug smuggling to Gulf nations, and persistent instability.

In his remarks, Prince Faisal highlighted the recent election of a president in Lebanon, following a prolonged period of political deadlock, as a highly positive development. He expressed Saudi Arabia’s support for the potential formation of a new government in Lebanon but emphasized the importance of implementing genuine reforms and adopting a forward-looking approach to ensure long-term stability and progress.

The Saudi foreign minister also stressed that Lebanon's future lies in the hands of its people, urging them to make decisions that would guide the nation toward a more promising future.