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The return of the ambassadors of Kuwait and Saudi Arabia to Beirut on Friday, April 8, was an indication of the improvement of relations with Lebanon, which reached its lowest level last year.
Odeh, which observers see as useful and necessary to help Lebanon get out of its current economic crisis, which led to a record collapse in the value of the local currency once morest the dollar, as well as a shortage of fuel and medicine, and an increase in food prices.
A position confirmed by the head of the Lebanese economic bodies, former Minister Muhammad Choucair, who said, during an iftar banquet hosted by the Saudi ambassador to Lebanon, Walid Bukhari, on Wednesday, April 13, that his country cannot continue economically without a strong and deep relationship with the Gulf states, especially Saudi Arabia.
worst economic crisis
For two years, Lebanon has been suffering from the worst economic crisis since the end of the civil war (1975-1990), which led to a financial collapse, as well as great material losses to the banking system, estimated by the government at regarding $69 billion.
A crisis described by the Director of the Middle East Department at the World Bank, Saroj Kumar Jha, last week, as the worst in Lebanon’s history, and that it is among the three worst crises in the world.
Since the beginning of the crisis, Lebanon’s banks have imposed restrictions on depositors’ money in foreign currency, especially the US dollar, and placed severe ceilings on withdrawing money in Lebanese pounds (according to the value of the deposit and the bank), due to the severe economic and financial crisis that the country is going through.
The value of the lira once morest the dollar has been stable for more than a quarter of a century at 15.15, but it has gradually deteriorated since late 2019, affected by the economic crisis, to an average of 23,000 currently.
Parliamentary elections are the reason
On the other hand, analysts believe that the main reason for Bukhari’s return to Beirut is to arrange Saudi Arabia’s papers before the parliamentary elections to be held in Lebanon in the middle of next month, and to support figures close to Riyadh, mainly the Lebanese Forces Party and the movement of former Prime Minister Fouad Siniora.
According to analysts, the electoral alliances between the March 8 forces (the allies of Iran and the Syrian regime) have become more coherent than the alliances of the March 14 forces (close to Riyadh and Washington), while the forces of change (affiliated with the October 17 uprising) seem unified.
This reality is due to the absence of the most prominent Sunni component in Lebanon, the “Future Movement” and its leader, Saad Hariri, from the political scene, following Hariri announced last January that he would suspend his political work and not run in the parliamentary elections.
Parliamentary elections are held in Lebanon every four years, according to the distribution adopted since the Taif Agreement in 1989, with 128 seats divided equally between Muslims and Christians throughout the country.
On Thursday evening, April 7, the Saudi and Kuwaiti foreign ministries announced the return of their ambassadors to Lebanon, in reference to the end of the crisis that erupted once morest the background of statements by former Lebanese Minister of Information George Kordahi regarding the war in Yemen.
The Saudi Foreign Ministry said that its ambassador returned “in response to the calls and appeals of the moderate national political forces in Lebanon” and following statements by Prime Minister Najib Mikati regarding ending all political, military and security activities affecting Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries.
Despite the return of the Saudi ambassador to Beirut, relations between the two sides are still tense, and according to Saudi media sources, this step does not mean the return of relations to their golden age, but to what they were before the ambassadors were withdrawn, with the continued ban on importing agricultural products, and banning travel to Lebanon. .
With the return of the Gulf ambassadors to Beirut, will the page of differences between Riyadh and Lebanon be closed?
Will the return of the Gulf ambassadors help solve Lebanon’s economic crises?
Is the upcoming parliamentary elections the main reason for the return of ambassadors?
How does this step affect the political scene in Lebanon?
When can the Gulf-Lebanese relations return to their golden age?
Does the return of Gulf ambassadors to Beirut, the armistice in Yemen, and the dialogue with Iran via Baghdad indicate a new approach in Saudi foreign policy?
We will discuss these and other topics with you in the Friday, April 15th episode
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