UAE embassy in Lebanon to be reopened after over 3 years

A senior United Arab Emirates delegation visited Lebanon to coordinate the reopening of the Gulf Arab state’s embassy in Beirut after a closure of over three years, Reuters reported via the state news agency WAM on January 13th.
In October 2021, the UAE closed its embassy and withdrew its diplomats from Lebanon, aligning its position with Saudi Arabia after a Lebanese information minister criticised the Saudi-led military campaign in Yemen.
At the time, Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister cited Hezbollah’s control over Lebanese politics as a key concern. Since then, most of Hezbollah’s senior figures have been killed, and many of its key positions across Lebanon have been destroyed during a conflict with Israel that lasted over a year.
The UAE delegation arrived on January 12th, shortly after UAE President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and Lebanon’s newly elected President Joseph Aoun reached an agreement to proceed with reopening the diplomatic mission.
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“The reopening reflects the UAE’s keenness to support stability and development in Lebanon, and its steadfast commitment to providing comprehensive support to the Lebanese people across various sectors,” the UAE foreign ministry said in a statement.
President Aoun has noted that countries like the UAE and Saudi Arabia are willing to renew diplomatic ties, according to remarks made by Lebanese deputy parliament speaker Elias Bou Saab in a televised address.
“The UAE will reopen its embassy very soon… thus there is hope for us to start a new page in Lebanon,” said Bou Saab.
Last week, Lebanon agreed to extradite Abdul Rahman al-Qaradawi, the son of the late Muslim cleric Youssef al-Qaradawi, to the UAE.
Al-Qaradawi, an Egyptian-Turkish national, was apprehended in Lebanon after publishing an online video containing critical remarks about the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt, according to his legal representative and Amnesty International.
Reuters, WAM