Large UAE delegation set to arrive in Lebanon in major investment push

BEIRUT — The United Arab Emirates is dispatching a large economic delegation to Beirut on Wednesday for a two-day visit expected to produce several projects and partnerships aimed at reviving Lebanon’s crippled economy, in the latest sign of improving ties between the two countries.

Return of UAE investment

UAE Minister of State for Foreign Trade Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi will lead a delegation that includes 67 prominent business leaders and senior executives.

The delegation is expected to discuss investment and partnership opportunities in both Lebanon's public and private sectors.

According to information obtained by Lebanon’s LBCI television channel, the delegation will explore potential partnerships with the Lebanese government on several projects, including the management and development of customs systems at Beirut International Airport, seaports and border crossings, as well as oil facilities.

The Lebanese Economic Organizations, an umbrella group representing the country's private business sector comprising syndicates, chambers of commerce, banks, industrialists, traders and agricultural unions, will host the Emirati delegation.

The group's head and former minister of telecommunications, Mohammad Choucair, said in a statement carried by the state-run National News Agency last Wednesday that the visit was part of efforts to revive economic and trade relations between the two countries and reflected the UAE’s interest in supporting Lebanon’s economic recovery and growth.

On Monday, Lebanese President Joseph Aoun met with Lebanon’s ambassador to the UAE, Tarek Mneimneh, at the presidential palace to discuss preparations for the upcoming visit.

Thaw in UAE-Lebanese relations

The anticipated visit comes as both Lebanon and the UAE seek to revitalize ties, following years of strained relations over the growing influence of Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon.

The UAE, along with several other Gulf countries, had long been a key partner of Lebanon.

Between 2003 and 2016, direct Emirati investments in Lebanon totaled around $7.8 billion, representing 64.8% of all Arab projects launched in the country during that period, making the UAE the largest source of Arab investment in Lebanon, according to the UAE foreign ministry.

Abu Dhabi also provided hundreds of millions of dollars in direct financial support, loans and economic investments to Lebanon in the 1990s and early 2000s.

Relations soured, however, as Hezbollah’s influence expanded following the 2005 assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, a close ally of Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries.

Tensions peaked in October 2021 when the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Kuwait recalled their ambassadors to Beirut and closed their embassies after a former Lebanese minister close to Hezbollah criticized the Yemen war and the Saudi-led coalition.

The UAE also expelled several Lebanese citizens as relations deteriorated and detained dozens more over their alleged links to Hezbollah, which the Gulf Cooperation Council designated a terrorist organization in 2016.

Today, with Hezbollah weakened by successive conflicts with Israel and a new Western-backed government in place, Gulf countries are reengaging with Lebanon. Days after Aoun was elected president in January 2025, the UAE sent a high-level delegation to Beirut to finalize the official reopening of its embassy.

Economic push

Aoun has pursued diplomatic efforts since his election to rebuild relations with Gulf countries and secure economic assistance.

He visited Abu Dhabi in April 2025, marking the first visit by a Lebanese head of state since 2012. During the visit, the UAE announced it would lift a four-year ban on its citizens traveling to Lebanon and expressed readiness to support the country’s reconstruction.

The small Mediterranean country is grappling with a devastating economic and financial crisis that erupted in October 2019 after years of financial mismanagement and corruption.

The crisis was compounded by the rupture in relations with Gulf countries and by two conflicts with Israel that began in October 2023 and March 2026, after Hezbollah opened fronts in support of Hamas and Iran, respectively.

In a report released on Friday, the World Bank projected that Lebanon’s economy would contract by 6.4% in 2026, after real gross domestic product grew by an estimated 4.2% in 2025.

Inflation is also expected to increase to 17.5% in 2026 due to “supply disruptions, higher shipping costs, and rising oil prices, further reducing people’s purchasing power,” the report continued.

Despite the diplomatic thaw, legacy disputes stemming from Lebanon’s financial collapse could complicate the return of Emirati capital. In April, UAE-based Al Habtoor Group initiated legal action against the Lebanese state through international law firm White & Case LLP, seeking more than $1.7 billion in losses tied to the country’s financial meltdown.