Saudi FM in Lebanon for first visit in almost 15 years

Saudi Arabia's top diplomat landed in Beirut on Thursday to meet the country's new leadership in the first visit by a high-ranking official from the kingdom after more than a decade of strained ties.

Reeling from years of economic collapse and a destructive war waged by “Israel”, Lebanese leaders have pinned hopes on wealthy Gulf states for desperately needed reconstruction funds.

"The Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Prince Faisal bin Farhan, arrived at Rafic Hariri International Airport," Lebanon's official National News Agency reported.

He is set to meet Lebanon's newly elected President, former military chief Joseph Aoun -- whose candidacy is widely believed to have been backed by Riyadh and Western countries.

Riyadh was a major investor in Lebanon but ties between the two countries have soured for roughly the past decade over the growing influence of Hezbollah.

Prince Faisal's visit comes at a time when Lebanon is seeking a fresh start.

Aoun, whose election ended more than two years without a president, named former International Court of Justice presiding judge Nawaf Salam as prime minister-designate.

He has been tasked with forming a government capable of boosting Lebanon's faltering economy and rebuilding areas devastated by war.

Earlier this month, Aoun said his first official overseas trip would be to Saudi Arabia, after Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman invited him to visit the kingdom.

In his first speech as president, Aoun said the state would have "a monopoly" on bearing weapons, in a country where Hezbollah was the only group to keep its arsenal following the 1975-1990 civil war.

Prior to his visit, Prince Faisal called Aoun's election "extremely positive", but said the kingdom was waiting for concrete change before engaging further with Beirut.

"We will need to see real action. We will need to see real reform. We will need to see a commitment to a Lebanon that is looking to the future, not to the past, in order for us to raise our engagement," he said.

His Lebanon visit aims to "inform the Kingdom's approach" he said.

In 2021, Gulf states including Saudi Arabia had recalled diplomats from Beirut over a Lebanese minister's criticism of the Saudi operations in Yemen.

Riyadh had also suspended fruit and vegetable imports from Lebanon in April that year, saying shipments were being used for drug smuggling and accusing Beirut of inaction.

Among other tensions, in 2016 Riyadh said it had halted a USD 3 billion programme for military supplies to Lebanon in protest against Hezbollah.