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Lebanon’s Economy Minister Amer Bisat acknowledged strained relations with both Arab and local investors during an interview with The National on the sidelines of the World Governments Summit in Dubai. The minister described the ties as fractious noting that the country and its partners had all endured a horrible period since the fiscal crisis erupted in 2019. “Confidence has been lost unfortunately and we lost it very quickly” Bisat said adding that the government was focused on looking forward to regain trust through serious hard work pursued slowly but surely. World Bank data shows the cumulative GDP contraction has reached nearly 40 percent since 2019 while the 2024 war with Israel added damages and losses estimated at 8.5 billion dollars according to the same institution.
Bisat emphasised that Lebanon’s reconstruction strategy relies primarily on grants from regional and international friends rather than conventional debt given the country’s constrained credit profile. The World Bank has put total reconstruction and recovery needs at 11 billion dollars with the minister stating that both the spending plan and mechanism were already in place. Any borrowing would be kept to concessional very low interest rates he added while Moody’s continues to assign one of the lowest possible sovereign ratings reflecting persistent defaults. An International Monetary Fund staff team visited Lebanon in mid February 2026 to review progress on financial sector restructuring and a medium term fiscal framework.
Gulf re engagement has intensified since the current government took office in February 2025 with President Joseph Aoun and Prime Minister Nawaf Salam making improved Arab relations a foreign policy priority. A Middle East Institute assessment found that Gulf states had provided roughly 85 percent of foreign direct investment into Lebanon before the crisis particularly in banking real estate and tourism. Bisat highlighted resumed bilateral visits positive attitudes from sovereign wealth funds in the UAE Kuwait Qatar and Saudi Arabia and Qatar’s provision of more than 430 million dollars in energy sector aid last month. Deeper investment however remains conditional on measurable reforms and progress toward benchmarks set with the International Monetary Fund.
Ties with Saudi Arabia centre on three immediate steps the minister told The National including removal of export bans facilitation of travel for tourists and businessmen and advancement of pending economic cultural and environmental pacts. Saudi Arabia had absorbed 22.1 percent of Lebanese agricultural exports in 2019 according to a government report before suspending imports in 2021 over drug smuggling concerns and maintaining a travel ban since then for security reasons. Lebanon is implementing stricter technical controls and scanning systems to address those issues Bisat said while stressing that the country must complete its homework on reforms. A GCC secretariat statement in April 2026 reaffirmed support for Lebanon’s stability and sovereignty in line with these diplomatic overtures.
Investment promotion efforts have included a government conference in November that drew 50 international firms such as Goldman Sachs Accor and BlackRock. “They’re interested in Lebanon” Bisat said. “Lebanon has so much opportunity.” Yet setbacks continue with UAE based Al Habtoor Group announcing in January that it would cease all Lebanese operations and pursue legal action over disputes involving a Beirut area hotel and a major theme park both hit hard by the economic meltdown. The episode underscores the lingering challenges in restoring full investor confidence.
Rebuilding southern Lebanon stands as a top social moral and political priority following the November 2024 ceasefire that halted more than a year of conflict with Israel. Bisat described discussions of a proposed economic free zone in the south as still premature until the war fully ends and the area becomes operable with Israel still occupying several strategic positions. The government is instead progressing with economic zones in Tripoli and at Beirut port alongside virtual free zones for technology firms already exporting advanced artificial intelligence chips to buyers such as Nvidia. World Bank projections from January 2026 had forecast real GDP growth of 4 percent for the year provided reforms persist and modest reconstruction inflows materialise.
