UAE-Lebanon Business Forum
| UAE-Lebanon Business Forum | |
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| Type | Bilateral business forum |
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| Headquarters | |
| Location | Seaside Arena, Beirut |
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| Key people | Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi; Mohamed Choucair |
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The UAE-Lebanon Business Forum was held at the Seaside Arena in Beirut on 26 and 27 August 2026. Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, UAE Minister of Foreign Trade, led a delegation reported as 80-strong and, by the Lebanese organiser, as 87 companies. Tarek Mitri, deputy prime minister, attended for Nawaf Salam. On the second day Al Zeyoudi met President Joseph Aoun. The forum produced four agreements, one of them the UAE-Lebanon Joint Business Council, which then held its first meeting in Beirut. Mohamed Choucair, who organised the Lebanese side, said the visitors had not talked politics, had met four ministers and the speaker as well as the president, and that about 50 Emirati companies had sat with 153 Lebanese ones.[1][2]
Lebanese ministers who spoke
Amer Al-Bassat, economy and trade. Fayez Rassami, public works and transport. Joe Issa Al-Khoury, industry. Nizar Hani, agriculture. Kamal Shehadeh, technology and artificial intelligence. Mitri stood in for the prime minister.[1]
The UAE side
Al Zeyoudi led. With him, as named: Abdallah Sultan Al Owais, vice chairman of the Federation of UAE Chambers and chairman of the Sharjah chamber. Hamad Sayah Al Mazrouei, undersecretary of the Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development. Hamad Buamim, described at the forum as president of the business council on the UAE side. Waleed AbdelRahman BuKhatir, second vice chairman of the Sharjah chamber. Mohammad Ahmed Amin Al Awadi, its director general. Abdul Aziz Al Shamsi, assistant director general. Nasser Al Nowais, chairman of Rotana. Abdullah Massaad, chief executive of RAK Ceramics. Issa Al Ghurair, chairman of Issa Al Ghurair Investment. Ismail Al Mazmi, chief commercial officer of Daleel Technology. Elite Agro Holding signed two of the four memoranda.[1][3]
The Lebanese side
Waseem Daher, described as president of the council on the Lebanese side. Wissam Al Ariss, president of the Union of Lebanese-Gulf Business Councils. Mohammed Shukair (Choucair), president of the economic bodies and of the Beirut and Mount Lebanon chamber. Mohammed Ali Qabbani, chairman of the Council for Development and Reconstruction. Maroun Al-Helou, president of the contractors’ syndicate. Majed Mouneimne, chairman of the Investment Development Authority of Lebanon. Jack Sarraf, president of Global Lebanese Investors.[1]
The two panels
Infrastructure and reconstruction: Qabbani, Al-Helou, Al Nowais, Massaad. From opportunities to partnerships: Mouneimne, Sarraf, Al Ghurair, Al Mazmi. The sectors named by visitors to The National were logistics, agriculture, energy, aviation and tourism. Health and artificial intelligence were also represented. An Adam, quoted by The National, told the room to invest rather than wait for the crisis to end.[1][4]
The four agreements
The council agreement, signed by Al Owais and Choucair. A link between the Abu Dhabi and Beirut chambers. Two memoranda by Elite Agro Holding, one with the American University of Beirut on farming research, one with Georges Daccache & Sons on greenhouses. Daher said the council’s first meeting, held during the forum, was the practical frame for turning the talks into projects.[3][5]
See also
- UAE-Lebanon Joint Business Council
- Sharjah Chamber of Commerce and Industry
- Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi
- Mohamed Choucair
Notes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 UAE-Lebanon Business Forum drives new wave of private-sector partnerships, WAM, 27 August 2026.
- ↑ شقير: الوفد الإماراتي لم يتطرّق إلى السياسة أبداً, Akhbar Al Yawm, 29 August 2026.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 New wave of UAE-Lebanon business ties, The National, 27 August 2026.
- ↑ UAE businesses seek first-mover advantage in Lebanon, The National, 26 August 2026.
- ↑ رئيس مجلس الأعمال اللبناني الإماراتي, Akhbar Al Yawm, 28 August 2026.