The United Arab Emirates and Lebanon have agreed to work on easing travel restrictions between the two countries, as part of efforts to strengthen bilateral relations.
The announcement came in a joint statement issued during Lebanese President Joseph Aoun’s official visit to the UAE, where he held talks with President His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan on deepening cooperation across various sectors.
“The two sides agreed to allow travel for citizens by implementing necessary procedures and mechanisms to ease movement between the two countries,” the statement said.
During their meeting at Qasr Al Shati in Abu Dhabi, the two leaders discussed ways to enhance cooperation in economic, investment and governance fields.
The joint statement detailed several concrete steps towards strengthening ties, including the establishment of a joint UAE-Lebanon Business Council and a visit by the Abu Dhabi Fund for Development to Lebanon to “explore and assess available joint cooperation projects.”
Additionally, the Government Experience Exchange Office of the UAE’s Ministry of Cabinet Affairs will visit Beirut to share best practices in government performance and institutional excellence.
Sheikh Mohamed expressed his keenness to work jointly with Lebanon to foster development, prosperity, security, and regional stability, and underscored the UAE’s support for Lebanon’s security, stability and sovereignty.
President Aoun, who took office in January 2025 after a two-year presidential vacuum in Lebanon, expressed his gratitude to Sheikh Mohamed for “his kind sentiments towards Lebanon and its people” and praised “the UAE’s supportive stance toward Lebanon and its people at all levels.”
This visit comes just months after the UAE reopened its embassy in Beirut. In January 2025, a high-ranking Emirati delegation arrived in Lebanon to facilitate arrangements for reopening the embassy, which had been closed since the UAE withdrew its diplomats in 2021.
The embassy reopening followed a phone call between Sheikh Mohamed and the newly elected President Aoun, with the UAE foreign ministry stating that the move “reflects the longstanding fraternal ties between the two countries and their peoples.”
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