Kuwaiti Foreign Minister Sheikh Ahmed Nasser Al-Mohammed Al-Sabah said on Saturday that the Gulf states are seeking to "rebuild confidence with Lebanon," during a visit to Beirut, the first by a high-ranking Gulf official since the crisis that began last year.

"This visit is among the various international efforts to rebuild confidence with brotherly Lebanon," the Kuwaiti foreign minister said after meeting with Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati at the start of a two-day visit to Lebanon.

He added that rebuilding confidence requires "steady, practical, tangible steps that all parties can touch."

The diplomatic crisis between Saudi Arabia and Lebanon began against the background of statements made by the Minister of Information at the time, George Qardahi, recorded before he took office and broadcast afterwards, in which he said that the Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen were "defending themselves" in the face of "external aggression" from Saudi Arabia and the UAE.

Saudi Arabia suddenly recalled its ambassador to Beirut and asked the Lebanese ambassador to leave Riyadh and decided to stop all Lebanese imports. In solidarity with Riyadh, Bahrain and Kuwait took a similar step, and the UAE withdrew its diplomats and decided to prevent its citizens from traveling to Lebanon.

The Kuwaiti authorities later decided to "get tough" in granting visas to the Lebanese.

Saturday, the Kuwaiti foreign minister said that among the steps that Lebanon should take in the context of rebuilding confidence, "not to interfere in the internal affairs of Arab countries in general, and the Gulf in particular," and not to be "a platform for verbal or actual aggression against any country."

Qardahi submitted his resignation last month in an effort to contain the crisis, and French President Emmanuel Macron announced that Paris and Riyadh had agreed to fully engage in the resumption of diplomatic relations with Lebanon.

The crisis exacerbated the economic collapse in Lebanon, which is facing a financial crisis that the World Bank has said is one of the worst in the world in modern history.

It is estimated that more than 300,000 Lebanese live in the Gulf states and constitute a vital artery for their country.