UAE-Lebanon Business Forum

Beirut business forum of 26–27 August 2026 led by the UAE foreign trade minister, which launched the UAE-Lebanon Joint Business Council

UAE-Lebanon Business Forum
Type	Bilateral business forum
Founded	26 August 2026
Location	Seaside Arena, Beirut
Key people	Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi; Mohamed Choucair

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.

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.

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.

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. Mohamed Choucair (also spelled Shukair), 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.

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. Mohamed Yusuf Adam, vice president of the UAE investment group National Pulse, told The National: "I think that if everyone waits until the [economic and security] crisis is over, it will take time."

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.

Context

The forum took place while "Israel" occupied a security zone in southern Lebanon. Arab News later reported approaches to southern landowners from Emirati or Cypriot companies, none of them named or linked to the forum. See Israeli occupation of southern Lebanon (2024–present) and Lebanese draft law banning property sales in occupied areas (2026).

See also

• UAE-Lebanon Joint Business Council
• Sharjah Chamber of Commerce and Industry
• Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi
• Mohamed Choucair